Oshiomhole: Akpabio thinks I’m the devil he knows
Senator Adams Oshiomhole has accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of harbouring a deep seated bias against him, claiming the Senate leader would exclude him from the National Assembly if he had the power to do so. The senator representing Edo North made the remarks during an interview on a podcast, where he painted a picture […]
oshiomhole
Senator Adams Oshiomhole has accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of harbouring a deep seated bias against him, claiming the Senate leader would exclude him from the National Assembly if he had the power to do so.
The senator representing Edo North made the remarks during an interview on a podcast, where he painted a picture of growing unease within the upper legislative chamber over Akpabio’s style of leadership.
According to Oshiomhole, his relationship with the Senate President has remained strained despite his longstanding role in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and his involvement in President Bola Tinubu’s successful election campaign.
“Everybody in the senate knows that if Senator Akpabio has his way, he would lock me out of the senate because he has misled himself into thinking that I’m probably the devil he knows,” Oshiomhole said.
The former Edo State governor said he was unable to explain the source of the alleged hostility but insisted that many lawmakers were aware of it.
“The senate president’s bias against me is very well known. I will not join in speculating about the reason for his bias. But many people in that senate know,” he stated.
Oshiomhole further alleged that Akpabio often appeared uneasy whenever he engaged colleagues in conversations on the floor of the Senate.
“In fact, if I am going round on the floor of the senate greeting certain people and having conversations, the man will become uncomfortable,” he said.
The lawmaker also suggested that dissatisfaction with the current leadership of the Senate was spreading among members, predicting that the next assembly would operate differently.
“This I can say, senators are grumbling about his style of leadership,” he said.
Oshiomhole cited “an encounter between Akpabio and Senator Abdulaziz Yari concerning the leadership of the Senate Committee on Interior”, which he currently chairs.
According to him, Yari had expressed interest in serving as vice chairman of the committee.
He claimed Akpabio responded by jokingly asking whether Yari intended to join him in plotting his removal as Senate President.
“So Yari said he wants to be vice chairman. And the senate president said to him, ‘So you want to join Senator Oshiomhole to be planning how to remove him as senate president?’” Oshiomhole recounted.
The latest remarks come against the backdrop of heightened tensions within the Senate following recent debates surrounding the finances of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Last week, Oshiomhole backed a motion seeking the arrest of former NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari for failing to appear before lawmakers investigating the company’s financial records.
The Senate’s Public Accounts Committee is currently examining audit reports covering 2017 to 2023, with lawmakers raising concerns over unresolved financial entries and discrepancies said to be worth more than N210 trillion.