Senator Adams Oshiomhole has accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of harboring suspicion towards him and regarding him as a threat within the Senate.
Oshiomhole, representing Edo North, made these claims during an appearance on the Sunday edition of MIC ON PODCAST, amid renewed tension in the Senate following his recent remarks about the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The former Edo State governor asserted that Akpabio’s alleged bias against him is widely recognized among senators, despite his significant contributions to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu’s 2023 campaign.
Don’t forget that I was a founding governor of the APC and Deputy DG of Bola Tinubu Campaign Council that gave us victory. I’m not saying I am responsible for the victory, but I worked for it, and I’m happy we got it, Oshiomhole said.
He further alleged that Akpabio would have excluded him from the Senate if he had the power, stating, He is so paranoid about anything that has to do with me.
Everybody in the Senate knows that if Senator Akpabio had his way, he would lock me out of the Senate because he has misled himself into thinking that I am probably the devil he knows. There are many angels he doesn’t know.
Oshiomhole also predicted that the leadership structure of the 11th Senate would differ from the current one, claiming that several senators are dissatisfied with Akpabio’s leadership style.
The 11th Senate will not be like the 10th, this I can say. It can’t be. Senators are grumbling about his style of leadership. But we try to manage, he said.
He noted that he has made efforts to assure Akpabio that he is not seeking any particular position in the Senate. I’ve tried to assure him that, ‘Look, Mr Senate President, I am a very fulfilled person.
Whatever job I am given to do, I ask God to give me courage and even greater wisdom to do that job to the satisfaction of my constituents. The Senate President’s bias against me is very well known. I will not join in speculating as to the reason for his bias.
Oshiomhole further claimed that Akpabio is uneasy whenever he is seen speaking with certain senators, referencing an incident involving Senator Abdulaziz Yari, who contested the Senate presidency against Akpabio in 2023.
According to Oshiomhole, Yari had approached Akpabio to express interest in becoming Vice-Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, which Oshiomhole chairs. The Senate President said to him, so you want to join Senator Oshiomhole to plan how to remove me as Senate President? But I just laughed it off, Oshiomhole recounted.
