These are Mr. Akpabio’s six most embarrassing public comments, compiled by Newslodge.
1. N1 million lunch money for ‘hungry’ PDP chairmen
Godswill Akpabioin March 2013, when he was governor of Akwa Ibom state, he surprised other leaders of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) during a south-south zone meeting of the party in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, when he said publicly, in front of the television cameras, which was doling out N1 million each of the PDP’s “hungry” state chairmen to go and have lunch at a fast food restaurant called Mr Bigg’s.
“My brother Governor Uduaghan said our members are hungry and we need to put food in their stomachs so they don’t go to other parties. I’m giving all state party chairmen N1 million right now for Mr. Biggs. Our members should not go hungry,” Akpabio said.
The then national president of the PDP, Bamanga Tukur was present at the meeting. He had flown party leaders from Abuja to Port Harcourt for the meeting that was aimed at reconciling the warring factions and restoring peace to the disputed state chapters.
On-site party leaders exchanged furtive glances in embarrassment over Akpabio’s comments. Shortly after, then Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and his Delta State counterpart Emmanuel Uduaghan left the scene. Both did not return.
Akpabio, however, continued his speech, calling on all PDP members in the region to support his son, President Goodluck Jonathan.
2. Akpabio confessed to rigging the elections on live TV
Akpabio shocked Nigerians in March 2013 when he confessed on live television how he had rigged the PDP senatorial primary election in Akwa Ibom state.
Akpabio, still the governor of Akwa Ibom at the time, said he falsified the result of a senatorial election and personally replaced the winner with his preferred candidate.
He said this while addressing a delegation led by then Information Minister Labaran Maku on a “good governance tour” to Uyo.
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Addressing the visiting delegation on his administration’s achievements, Mr. Akpabio, seeking to impress his sense of impartiality on the audience, said that he had removed the name of the winner of Akwa Ibom’s North West District in his party’s primary and replaced with Luis Etok.
Mr. Etok won the main election and was later named chairman of the Senate Committee on Establishment Affairs and Public Service.
“The people of Ikono and Ini (local government areas) from 1960 have never produced a senator,” Akpabio narrated.
“I used my own hand to cross out the name of the person who had won before, and I said that it is important for me to give a senator to that region in 2007, and I introduced Senator Aloysius Etok to you; that’s where it comes from,” he said, before motioning for Etok, who attended the session with his Senate colleague Ita Enang, to “bow down”.
The revelation rocked the audience and the governor’s associates, who exchanged awkward glances.
Several minutes later, an aide to the governor passed him a note (Mr. Akpabio), apparently drawing Mr. Akpabio’s attention to the devastating consequences of his comments.
Akpabio gave the note some attention, before retracting his earlier comments.
3. ‘Honourable minister, all right, all right. Get off your microphone! drama
Akpabio faced federal lawmakers on July 20, 2020, when he was Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
He accused members of the National Assembly of grabbing the majority of contracts at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) during a National Assembly inquiry hearing.
“Most of the contracts in the NDDC are awarded to members of the National Assembly, but they don’t know it”, Mr. Akpabio saying to a female member of the investigation panel who aggressively hurled questions at the then minister.
Uneasy, the panel’s chairman, Thomas Ereyitomi, asked the minister to suspend his testimony, which was broadcast live.
“Honored Minister, it’s okay, it’s okay. Get off your microphone!” Mr. Ereyitomi kept shouting.
An enraged Mr. Akpabio, after the public hearing, stepped forward to name the legislators who allegedly won NDDC contracts.
But then he made a U-turn and denied accusing members of the National Assembly of profiting from NDDC contracts.
Akpabio himself had been accused of inserting N500 million worth of projects into the NDDC’s 2017 budget when he was the Senate’s minority leader, an allegation that his spokesperson, Anietie Ekong, dismissed as “nothing extraordinary”.
4. ‘Fear God, guns and the government’
In the heat of the campaign for his election as Speaker of the 10th Senate, Mr. Akpabio, in May, made a brief appearance at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, where the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, met with elected members of the House.
The meeting was called to persuade elected legislators to support the election of President Tinubu as the new speaker.
“Yesterday I met the party. In fact, I left a prayer with them or thereabouts. Should I let you pray?” Akpabio told elected lawmakers.
“In your daily dealings, my late mother told me that I should be aware of the 3Gs: The first G is God; the second G is Weapon and the third G is Government.
“The first G is Almighty God. The second G is what? Gun and the third is (the) Government. That he behave taking into account the warning of my late mother, respecting 3G, particularly the government, ”she said.
The senator’s comment was clearly a veiled threat to elected lawmakers to support Tinubu’s candidate or be prepared to face some consequences.
5. ‘What money can’t do, more money can do’
Very similar to Mr. Akpabio’s ‘fear God, guns and government’ comment, is this, perhaps considered the senator’s most infamous comment: “What money can’t do, more money can.” .
Akpabio reportedly made the comment when he was governor of Akwa Ibom state. The comment, which ostensibly means that any man can be bought if lured with a large amount of cash, underscores the influence of money (corruption) in Nigerian politics.
Akpabio is not known to have denied making the comment.
6. ‘Prayers to the senators’ mailboxes’
Akpabio earlier this month made a mistake during plenary when he mistakenly revealed that money had been sent to senators to “enjoy” their recess.
The president of the Senate, who forgot that the proceedings were being broadcast live, began addressing his colleagues before a motion for adjournment was tabled at the end of the Senate ministerial screening.
“So that we can all enjoy our holidays, the Secretary of the National Assembly has sent a token to our various accounts,” he said.
Immediately informed by his colleagues that he was speaking live on television, Akpabio quickly withdrew his comment.
“In order for you to enjoy your vacation, the President of the Senate has sent prayers to your mailboxes to help you make a safe journey and return,” Akpabio rephrased the comment, apparently to correct what was deemed embarrassing.
Nigerians were outraged by Akpabio’s revelation, given the country’s economic difficulties.
Newslodge later discovered that the 109 senators received N2 million each, and that the “vacation allowance” was illegal as it is not provided for in the remuneration package approved by the Commission for Mobilization, Assignment and Revenue Fiscal, the body authorized by law to prepare the salaries and allowances of public servants.
“He made a very wrong statement, and I warned him right away that his comments were unbecoming of an elder.
“In fact, we are even planning to clamp down on him if he continues to make unsuspecting statements and act like we are children,” Senate leader Ali Ndume said of Akpabio’s embarrassing comment.
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