• ‘His purported withdrawal from race a ruse’
A socio-political group with membership spread across the six geo-political zones of the country, the National Patriotic Forum For Equity, Fairness And Justice (NPFEFJ), has said former Senate Minority Leader Godswill Akpabio will vie for the office of the Senate President in the 10th National Assembly.
A statement by the leadership of the group at the end of its national delegates’ conference in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, said: “From interactions with some notable figures in the camps of the former governor of Akwa Ibom State, he has not withdrawn from the race for the office of the Senate President in the incoming 10th Senate and has no reason(s) whatsoever to withdraw from the race.”
The statement by the group’s National Coordinator and the General Secretary, Oloye Tunde Olakojo and Mallam Shehudeen Abdulkadir, decried what it called the politics of lies, blackmail and character assassination being used by various interests, supporters and aspirants to secure endorsements from the party leaders and stakeholders.
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The NPFEFJ said: “We condemn in its entirety the politics of falsehood against Senator Godswill Akpabio and his ambition. From our independent findings, Senator Akpabio is the natural choice of the people because of his national appeal across party lines for the revered office of the Senate President.
“The introduction of lies and propaganda as strategies in an attempt to eliminate competitors is not healthy for our democracy and it should be condemned by well-meaning citizens of this country.
“From information at our disposal, majority of senators-elect and returning senators have since settled and queued behind the candidacy of Senator Akpabio because of his intimidating credentials, achievements in public office, his track records, maturity and experience. His contributions to the success of the party at the Southsouth zone in the last general election stand him out among the crowd.”
“Apart from the above, coming from the zone that has not produced the Senate President since the commencement of democratic rule in 1999, and being from the oil producing zone of the country, his knowledge in the oil and gas sector of the economy, and as a former Minister of the Niger Delta region, his election as the Number Three Citizen would be a plus for the zone and the country in general.”
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