By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Office of the President of the Senate has denied a viral statement attributed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, in which he was quoted as saying Northerners would suffer from January to May if President Bola Tinubu loses the 2027 election, describing the quotation as a complete fabrication.
The denial was contained in a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President of the Senate, Eseme Eyiboh, who said there was no video, audio recording, speech, interview, press release, transcript or credible news report in which Akpabio uttered the words.
He challenged the statement’s sponsor, identified as Engr Ibrahim Umar Ammar, whose verified Facebook profile links him to the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation and identifies him as Coordinator of ADC-NYAF in Kano State, to produce evidence of the alleged statement.
Eyiboh described the image bearing the quote as “merely an allegation wearing typography,” noting that Ammar’s Facebook profile contained other inflammatory political materials that, in his office’s view, warranted scrutiny by appropriate authorities over their potential to promote ethnic hostility or public disorder.
He demanded that Ammar or anyone circulating the material produce the original, unedited recording showing where, when and before whom Akpabio allegedly made the statement, alongside the date, venue and the journalists or media organisations that covered it.
He said if Ammar claimed to have merely reposted the material, he should identify his source and provide the original publication so the chain of dissemination could be established and those responsible held accountable.
“If no evidence exists, then the honourable course is straightforward: withdraw the fabrication, apologise publicly and stop poisoning Nigeria’s political atmosphere with dangerous ethnic propaganda,” Eyiboh said.
He also characterised the circulation of the quote as calculated incitement designed to manufacture fear, resentment and hostility between Northern Nigerians and a national leader from the South, warning that no election or political ambition justified exploiting ethnicity for votes.
Countering the claim, Eyiboh cited Akpabio’s record and relationships with Northern Nigeria, noting that many aides in his office are Northerners, including his Special Adviser on NGO and Diaspora Matters, Alhaji Dr Jibril Lawal Tafida.
He said Akpabio’s Senate presidency campaign was championed by prominent Northern political leaders and senators, and that he was elected Senate President by 63 votes against 46, an outcome he said could not have been achieved without substantial support across regional lines.
He also noted that Akpabio’s governing partner, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin of Kano, emerged unopposed on the same day.
He also listed legislative interventions passed under Akpabio’s leadership benefiting Northern Nigeria, including the North-West Development Commission, the North-Central Development Commission, a Federal Polytechnic in Rano, Kano State, and a Federal University of Health Sciences in Tsafe, Zamfara State.
He recalled that when floods struck Maiduguri, Akpabio personally visited Borno State and mobilised National Assembly support, with the Senate contributing N74 million toward a total N174 million intervention by both chambers.
The statement further argued that freedom of political expression did not confer a licence to invent and falsely attribute explosive ethnic threats to innocent people, stressing that the burden of proof rested on those making and circulating the allegation rather than on Akpabio to disprove an unidentified statement made at an unidentified time and place.
It urged Nigerians to demand primary evidence before sharing the claim, noting that repetition, likes and shares could not authenticate a fabricated quotation.
He called for the 2027 election to be contested on records, policies and competing visions rather than manufactured ethnic statements, warning that Nigeria’s unity must not become collateral damage in any campaign for power.
“The North is not an electoral weapon. The South is not an enemy. Ethnicity is not campaign ammunition,” he said, repeating his office’s demand that the quotation either be substantiated with evidence or withdrawn with a public apology.
