BY EDMOND ODOK – Amid what commentators have described as political quake within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senate President Godswill Akpabio has stirred up a hornet’s nest with the announcement that the Red Chamber’s leadership is actively engaging to secure return tickets for serving senators who were defeated in recent party primaries.
Senator Akpabio, who expressed shock at the high number of political casualties from the bruising primary nominations, revealed that high-level behind-the-scenes negotiations are currently underway towards securing tickets for some of the senators who lost the bid to contest the 2027 general elections
He said worried about a wave of sitting lawmakers across party lines who suffered major upsets during the primaries, the Senate leadership is pushing to reverse their electoral misfortunes, noting that the high number of losses suffered by incumbent lawmakers were quite shocking given that such result would no doubt disrupt legislative continuity and cause a severe loss of institutional memory.
Emerging reports indicate that about 40 senators across the APC, the factionalised Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), among other lost the primaries in unexpected circumstances. Among the high-profiled casualties are Senators Ned Nwoko, Gbenga Daniel, Danjuma Goje, and Rufai Hanga.
Akpabio, who spoke following the Senate resumption of plenary after the 4-week recess, congratulated those who won the primaries while offering hope to those still anticipating to have the desired results with the Senate ongoing engagement with political parties’ leadership.
He said: “I felicitate, particularly those who have secured their mandates to represent their parties in the next election. I know that there will always be victories and disappointments, yet above every individual triumph stands a greater triumph, the triumph of democracy itself.
“And in this Senate, we have promised that we will have very few disappointments, and I do know that the Senate leader and the leadership of the Senate are working very hard towards that, so in advance, I will say congratulations to all of us across party lines,” he said.
On the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State, Akpabio expressed concern over the unfortunate development, assuring that the government was doing its best to ensure their return.
He further described the incident as an assault on “our collective humanity”, and warned politicians against exploiting national tragedies for partisan advantage, saying: “At moments such as these, there is a temptation to divide, to accuse, and to seek advantage from tragedy. Politicians and aspirants must resist that temptation for such cheap publicity.”
According to him, “Let us continue to support every lawful and necessary measure to strengthen security, protect our schools, safeguard our communities, and ensure that every bandit faces the full weight of justice.”
