Senate President Godswill Akpabio has refuted Senator Elisha Abbo’s accusations of his involvement in Abbo’s removal from office.
Addressing reporters in Abuja on Monday, Abbo shared his perspective following the Court of Appeal’s decision to invalidate his election and recognize Amos Yohanna, representing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the rightful senator for the district.
Abbo asserted that he and four fellow senators faced adversity due to their opposition to Akpabio’s ascension as Senate President during the June election.
He said, “I have it from a reliable source, and a 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.”
Reacting in a statement to the allegations, Akpabio’s spokesman Eseme Eyiboh expressed shock at the assertions of the former Adamawa North senator, describing his claims as delinquent, provocative and unbecoming of a distinguished senator.
He said, “It is only a diseased and uninformed mind that will not believe that the outcome of any court proceeding is a function of the evaluation of facts and evidence within the province of the rule of law.
“It is uncharitable for Senator Abbo to pour his frustrations on Senator Akpabio or anyone else and his action betrays the bile he has for Senator Akpabio.
“Democracy is founded in the rule of law, so for anybody to accuse one of the strong agents of democracy and governance in the mould of Senator Godswill Akpabio, such an individual must be a monument of self-pity and his swansong a discordant escape from reality.”
Contininuing, Eyiboh said: “Senator Akpabio for emphasis has no ill-will towards any of his distinguished colleagues and as he has said in the past, the embers of the leadership election have been buried and replaced by the fraternal bond of nation building he shares with the overwhelming majority of senators.”
