Senators on Thursday declared their support for the return of Godswill Akpabio as the president of the 11th Senate, which will be inaugurated in June 2027, months after the general elections. The lawmakers also expressed satisfaction with the leadership of Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, and other principal officers, pledging to support their return to their respective positions in the next assembly.
They made the declaration during plenary after Mr Akpabio addressed the controversy surrounding the Senate’s passage of a bill seeking to decriminalise attempted suicide for second reading on Tuesday. Mr Akpabio said since the bill’s passage, some critics had accused him of religious bias, particularly over his insistence that anyone found culpable of attempting suicide should be jailed.
He alleged that the criticism was politically motivated and intended to undermine his reputation as the contest for the Senate presidency of the 11th National Assembly approaches. “I know the position of president is gone. The position of vice president is gone. The only one that is left now is the position of senate president. So everybody will want to contest that, and then we want to mobilise.
That is what is left and everybody is interested,” he said. Mr Akpabio urged political analysts to consider the issues and the personalities involved before commenting on the controversy, warning against statements that could damage people’s reputations. “So people who go out there to talk should study the personalities involved. This is a politically charged period.
People should go and face the truth and discuss issues, not to try to damage people’s reputations,” he added. After Mr Akpabio’s remarks, the Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno, expressed confidence that most serving senators would secure re-election in 2027 and support Mr Akpabio’s return as senate president.