Sacked Senator Elisha Abbo, who previously represented Adamawa North, has made a strong allegation, asserting that the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, played a significant role in the recent decision of the Appeal Court, which led to the abrupt termination of his Senate tenure.
This statement was made during a press conference held in Abuja, shortly after the news of his removal from office had gained widespread attention.
In a recent development, the Court of Appeal, situated in Abuja, delivered a verdict that led to Abbo’s removal from office. The appellate court, in its ruling, nullified Abbo’s election and instead declared PDP’s candidate, Amos Yohanna, as the rightful winner.
Abbo, however, said four other senators had been marked down for similar removal judgement by the court of Appeal.
He said Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia North) was the next target of the planned ‘coup’ against five senators from the Senate by its leadership.
He said their offence was that they opposed the emergence of the leadership of the 10th Senate in June.
“I have it from reliable source and very highly placed one for that matter, that myself and four other Senators within the fold of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would be removed from the Senate through rulings from the courts, all because of working against the emergence of Akpabio as President of the 10th Senate.
“I won’t mention the names of all the four other ones targeted but the next in line is Senator Orji Uzor Kalu,” he said.
He wondered how with over 11, 000 votes margin of victory he had above his closest river, Yohanna Amos Yohanna of the Peoples Democratic Party in the election, the Appeal Court still upturned his victory.
“The court judgement is strange and the judiciary needs to please remain the last hope of the common man. For President Bola Tinubu, I must declare that this is not the democracy he fought for and should please lead in protecting it,” he said.
He, however, appealed to his supporters to remain calm even as he boasted that he, could not be taken out of the political space, and vowed to re-contest in 2027 and win.
Abbo, who expressed disappointment that the judiciary was being used by some people he referred to as “cabal members” noted that democracy was being destroyed.
He called on Tinubu to note that the democracy he fought for during the military rule was not the one being practised at the moment, and described the ruling as strange.
The senator, who was shocked that the court could grant a prayer not sought by lawyers of his opponent, said, “This is a coup. But I call on my supporters to remain calm.”
He alleged that his stand against the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC was another issue that pitted him against some forces in the party.
On whether there was actually a plan to impeach Akpabio, Abbo said it was not true, but disclosed that there were serious uproar over the lop-sided manner committee chairmen were appointed without regards to those who supported and voted for the former Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari.
He admitted that because of the uproar, all vice-chairmanship appointment has been dissolved to pave the way for a reconstitution.
