Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, has been elected as the Senate President of the tenth Assembly.
The All Progressives Congress, in power, had Akpabio as their top pick.
After receiving 63 votes, Akpabio was elected Senate President, defeating Yari Abdulaziz with 46.
PROFILE
Godswill Akpabio, the new Senate President of Nigeria, said he was one of the few fortunate Nigerians born with a silver spoon in his mouth and that he comes from a long line of leaders and people in authority.
Akpabio hails from a strong political dynasty; his grandfather, Okuku Udo Akpabio, was the Warrant Chief in Ikot Ekpene province in the old Nigeria, while his uncle, Dr Ibanga Akpabio, was the Minister of Education/Internal Affairs in the then Eastern Nigeria. His cousin, Justice Nsima Akpabio, was also a senator in the Second Nigerian Republic.
Akpabio started his schooling at the Methodist Primary School in Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State. He then finished his secondary education at the Federal Government College in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he served as a senior prefect.
His leadership development continued even after he graduated from high school, as he was chosen to serve as Speaker of a Parliamentary Year while pursuing his law degree at the University of Calabar in Cross River State.
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After earning his law degree at the undergraduate level, Akpabio worked briefly as a teacher before beginning employment as an associate at the Nigerian law firm Paul Usoro and Co.
After that, he worked for EMIS Telecoms Limited, a wireless telecommunications firm in Lagos, Nigeria, where he eventually attained the post of Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer.
Akpabio also served as the Association of Telecommunication Companies in Nigeria’s national publicity secretary.
In 2002, while still serving as the MD of EMIS Telecoms, Akpabio, the then-goveror of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, named him as the Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources. He held the position of commissioner in the Lands and Housing, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and Petroleum and Natural Resources ministries between 2002 and 2006.
After serving as a commissioner, Akpabio entered the race for governor of Akwa Ibom, competing against 57 other candidates to secure the ticket of his previous party, the Peoples Democratic Party.
Launched with the slogan, “Thy will be done,” Akpabio won the governorship election in 2006 and got re-elected as the number one citizen of Akwa Ibom for the second time in 2011.
In 2013, Akpabio was elected chairman of the newly formed PDP Governors Forum.
In 2015, he contested and won the Senate seat of the Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District to represent the district in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
He garnered 422,009 of the 439,449 votes cast while running under the PDP banner, defeating Chief Inibehe Okorie of the APC who received 15,152 votes to be deemed the victor by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
As the Senate Minority Leader in 2015, Akpabio was appointed as a senior officer for the first time in violation of Senate rules.
He announced his defection to the All Progressives Congress in August 2018, at which point he resigned from his position as Senate Minority Leader.
In July 2019, he was nominated by the former President, Muhammadu Buhari, and screened by the Nigerian Senate for a ministerial appointment. On August 21, 2019, he was sworn in as Minister for Niger Delta Affairs.
In June 2022, Akpabio’s ambition went even higher when he resigned his appointment as the minister for Niger Delta Affairs to contest in the presidential primaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress but stepped down on the night of the primaries for the president, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Having stepped down for the President, Akpabio, against all odds, clinched his senatorial ticket through a court order from a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr Udom Ekpoudom.
Having secured the ticket, Akpabio began the tussle for the Senate Presidency and eventually got anointed as the party’s choice.
