Former Adamawa North Senator Ishaku Elisha Abbo has alleged that Senate President Godswill Akpabio is running the Nigerian Senate like a personal empire and victimising lawmakers who oppose his leadership.
Abbo made these accusations while speaking on the Arise News programme, PrimeTime Show, on Wednesday night.
During the interview, Abbo claimed that Akpabio orchestrated the removal of senators who did not align with his leadership. Recounting a conversation with the Senate President, Abbo stated, “He told me that five senators would be removed. I asked how he knew, and he said, ‘I am the Senate President. I know.’ True to his words, five of us were removed. I had no idea that I was one of them.”
Abbo alleged that his refusal to support Akpabio during the Senate Presidency race may have been a factor. According to him, when he was elected into the 10th Senate, he became the de facto Director General of the campaign for Senator Abdulaziz Yari. Abbo said, “When I won election into the 10th Senate, I became the de facto DG campaign to Senator Abdulaziz Yari. He (Akpabio) came to my hotel room around 2 AM, asking for my support. I told him I was already committed to Yari and wished him good luck.”
The former senator also accused Akpabio of offering financial inducements to secure support from other senators. Abbo alleged that during a meeting at the Transcorp Hilton, money was distributed to sway lawmakers. “At a meeting at Transcorp Hilton, $10,000 was being distributed, but I refused to take any money,” he revealed.
Abbo claimed that after his removal, he was denied certain privileges, unlike other senators who were similarly affected. He stated, “Every other senator who was removed by the courts got their vehicles, but I was excluded. This is the level of vindictiveness displayed by Akpabio.”
He further accused Akpabio of sidelining Senator Ali Ndume for raising concerns about the way the Senate was being run. Abbo explained, “Now, let’s look at Senator Ali Ndume. He was the DG to Akpabio. When he raised concerns about the way things were being run in the Senate, he was removed as Chief Whip and stripped of his position as Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations.”
Abbo also accused Akpabio of manipulating Senate rules to consolidate his influence. He stated, “I also moved a motion to amend the Senate Standing Rules so that only senators who had served at least one term could contest for Senate leadership. But what did Akpabio do? He rewrote the rules to allow first-term senators to become leaders of both the majority and minority caucuses—just so he could control them.”
In a rather startling claim, Abbo alleged that senators were being treated like subordinates at Akpabio’s residence. “Do you know that in Akpabio’s house, senators serve him tea?” he asked rhetorically. He then added, “Well, I am telling you now. And I told him, ‘You are no longer a governor. These senators are our colleagues, not your commissioners. They are not here to serve you tea.’”
Despite his criticisms, Abbo emphasised that his issues were with the Senate leadership, not the institution itself. “I have always defended the integrity of the Senate. The issue is the leadership, not the institution itself,” he added.
