PROGRESSIVE SENATORS DISMISS PURPORTED ENDORSEMENT OF AKPABIO FOR 11TH SENATE PRESIDENCY

 

PROGRESSIVE SENATORS DISMISS PURPORTED ENDORSEMENT OF AKPABIO FOR 11TH SENATE PRESIDENCY

_Says Akpabio jittery over poor performance; insist 10th Senate cannot choose leaders for next Assembly_

Progressive senators elected on the platfom of the All Progressive Congress have uterly rejected the purported endorsement of Senate President Godswill Akpabio as the automatic choice for the presidency of the 11th Senate, describing the move as premature, self-serving and without legal effect.

Senator Patrick Ndubueze, speaking on behalf of progressive senators elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has dismissed the purported endorsement of Senate President Godswill Akpabio for the presidency of the 11th Senate, describing the move as premature and insisting that the leadership of the next Assembly cannot be predetermined by the current Senate.

The reaction follows Thursday’s plenary, during which Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno (Borno North) and Senator Cyril Fasuyi (Ekiti North) declared that there was “no vacancy” in the offices of the Senate President, Deputy Senate President and other principal officers for the next National Assembly. The declaration received a voice vote of support from senators present.

Progressive lawmakers dismissed the claim that the endorsement settles the leadership question. They stated that members of the 10th Senate have neither the legal nor the moral authority to predetermine who will lead the 11th Senate.

“The 10th Senate cannot choose leadership for the 11th Senate,” the progressive senators stated. “That decision belongs solely to the senators who will be elected in 2027 and sworn in after the general elections. Any declaration of ‘no vacancy’ made today has no binding force.”

They stressed that the election of presiding officers remains the exclusive prerogative of the newly constituted chamber and cannot be locked in by the outgoing one.

The progressive senators linked the hurried declaration to insecurity within the current leadership.

“Akpabio is jittery over the poor performance of the 10th Senate under his watch,” the statement said. “Instead of concentrating on quality legislation and effective oversight that improves the lives of Nigerians, energy is being diverted into early power games for a future Assembly that does not yet exist.”

They described the endorsement as an attempt to close ranks and discourage potential challengers rather than a genuine reflection of confidence in the current leadership’s record.

The progressive senators urged Nigerians to disregard the purported endorsement and focus instead on the performance of the National Assembly in its remaining months

They maintained that the leadership of the next Senate must be decided freely on the floor of the 11th Assembly through the established democratic process, not by preemptive declarations from the current one.