Second Largest Ethnic Group in A’Ibom Drums Support for Akpabio’s Ambition as Senate President
Okon Bassey in Uyo
The Afe Annang, the apex socio-cultural organisation of Annang people, the second largest ethnic group in Akwa Ibom State, has joined the call for Senator Godswill Akpabio to be elected president of the 10th Senate.
The body pointed out that the South-south should be recognised for the position because it has never produced the Senate’s President since the return of democracy in 1999.
The group in a statement issued yesterday and made available to journalists in Uyo, said that their son, Senator Godswill Akpabio, is qualified to be the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The statement was signed by the President of Afe Annang, Mr. Blaise Udofia and its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Sunny Udom.
It urged the President-elect, Senator Bola Tinubu, and the other 108 senators to massively support Akpabio for the number one Senate’s seat.
The organisation noted that Akpabio was the first aspirant to step down for Tinubu during the presidential primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
While congratulating Akpabio for emerging victorious in the February 25 National Assembly elections, the Afe Annang said that the victory was a call for higher service.
“The victory in the understanding of Annang people and the entire Akwa Ibom State, was a clear sent-forth mandate given to Senator Akpabio to engage his colleagues for support for the Senate presidency.
“Akpabio is eminently qualified in terms of zoning, national and international connections and networking, experience in good governance, and past political performance records.
“As far as zoning is concerned, the South-south stands out as the zone to beat as no Senate’s president has ever been produced by the zone since the end of the tenure of late Senator Joseph Wayas as the Senate’s president in 1983.
“If it is considered that our sister zone, the South-east has produced five Senate Presidents (one from each of its five states) in an unbroken back-to-back stream of 16 years in this Fourth Republic alone, all with the support of the South-south, then the South-east should take this as a payback period to support the South-south for their turn.
“Therefore, as the only ranking APC’s senator and a former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, as son in-law to the South-east should be trusted to carry the South-east and other geo-political zones along as the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the statement said.
The organisation further noted that “Senator Akpabio’s sweeping victory on February 25, 2023, also ensured that the President-elect gained 33 per cent votes, which is more than the constitutional requirement of 25 per cent in Akwa Ibom State.
“For the president-elect, it is also reciprocal to reward the loyalty of the South-south, which gave him about 800,000 votes on February 25, 2023 while the South-east gave him a paltry 100,000 votes,” the group stressed.
