By Tolúlopé Olátúnjí
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has dismissed claims suggesting he will contest the 2027 Presidential Election on a joint ticket with former Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir-El-Rufai, labeling the speculation as the work of mischief-makers.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Eseme Eyiboh, Akpabio asserted that he harbours no intentions of running for post of President in 2027, nor has he considered a joint ticket with El-Rufai or any other individual.
In response to posters circulating in some parts of Abuja, depicting Akpabio and El-Rufai as presidential aspirants, the Senate President urged security agencies to investigate the matter and identify those behind what he termed an “ugly enterprise.”
The statement reads in part: “The attention of the office of the President of the Senate has been drawn to posters circulating in some parts of Kaduna associating the President of the Senate with a supposed El-Rufai 2027 political ambition,”
“This is the handiwork of mischief-makers and familiar fifth columnists bent on tarnishing the President’s loyalists. The action is spurious and mischievous.” it added
Eyiboh emphasized that Senator Akpabio is focused on supporting President Tinubu’s administration through legislative collaboration, a commitment he has maintained since assuming office on June 13, 2023. He described the allegations as an attempt to distract from the Senate’s ongoing efforts under Akpabio’s leadership.
“It is embarrassing for anyone to link the person of Senate President Godswill Akpabio to an insipid presidential ambition, when a competent, trusted, and tested leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, is in the driving seat,” the statement continued.
It further noted: “We implore members of the public to disregard this unbridled mischief intended to distract Nigerians from the purposeful and positive interventions the Senate is demonstrating.”
The controversy has prompted calls for a thorough investigation to uncover those responsible for disseminating the alleged misleading posters.
