Senator-elect in the opposition parties with special reference to the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) have all rejected the choice of Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President of the 10th Assembly.
The decision to use Akpabio arrived at the eight-man caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress, APC with the President-elect, Ahmed Bola Tinubu on Friday morning at his residence in Abuja.
The opposition parties have now reacted to moves from the APC to make Akpabio the senate president.
Akpabio was a two-time governor of Akwa Ibom on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party and defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress before he became the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
According to APC. Akpabio is set to be deputized by Senator Jibrin Barau from Kano.
A newly elected Senator on the platform of PDP who spoke with pressmen on condition of anonymity : revealed that Akpabio is not in the good books of the party.
He said: “The choice of Akpabio is not acceptable to us. We are the major opposition in the 10th Senate and APC should listen to us. We don’t want Akpabio.”
“Only 3 out of 36 PDP Senators are backing Akpabio which I know, the Senators-elect are from Rivers State and governor Nyesom Wike urged them to support him.
“He is offering us money but we don’t want his money because he is not principled. He will eventually sell out the Senate if allowed to be the Senate President, the source alleged.
“Remember what he did in 2018/2019. The PDP honoured him as a first-timer in the Senate by giving him an exalted position of Minority Leader.
”Without any just cause, save for his pocket and selfish interest, he abandoned the PDP midstream and joined APC. He was rewarded with a ministerial position. We can’t trust such a person as a Senate President, he is unstable,” the PDP Senator-elect from South-South claimed.