Akpabio Breaks Silence On Viral Claim Northerners Will Suffer If Tinubu Loses 2027 Election

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has dismissed claims that he said Northerners would suffer if President Bola Tinubu loses the 2027 election.

Naija News reports that the lawmaker made the clarification in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh.

Akpabio described the statement as a complete fabrication and challenged the alleged sponsor of the material, Engr. Ibrahim Umar Ammar, to provide evidence backing his claim.

The Senate President argued that there was no video, audio recording, speech, interview, press release, transcript or credible news report in which he made the alleged remark.

The statement was titled, “Desperate and Dangerous Lie: Produce the Evidence or Withdraw It.”

Akpabio said a photograph bearing the alleged quotation was not evidence of the statement, describing it as “an allegation wearing typography.”

“Produce the original and unedited video or audio recording showing precisely where, when and before whom Senator Akpabio made the alleged statement. Name the occasion. Give the date and venue. Provide the complete recording, not a conveniently edited fragment,” he said.

The Senate President also called on anyone who claimed to have merely reposted the material to identify its original source and provide the publication from which it was obtained.

He said political opposition was legitimate but warned against what he described as the use of fabricated statements to inflame ethnic sentiments ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Akpabio said the 2027 political contest should be based on records, policies, achievements, failures and competing visions for the country rather than what he described as fabricated quotations capable of threatening national unity.

“This is not legitimate political opposition. It is calculated incitement designed to manufacture fear, resentment and hostility between Northern Nigerians and a national leader from the South,” he said.

He argued that his political relationships, appointments and legislative activities contradicted the allegation that he was hostile towards the North.

Akpabio noted that several Northerners served in his office and cited his working relationship with Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin of Kano State, as evidence of his political cooperation across regional lines.

He also pointed to legislation establishing the North-West Development Commission and the North-Central Development Commission, as well as federal institutions in Kano and Zamfara states, as examples of initiatives he said demonstrated his commitment to development across the country.

The Senate President further recalled his visit to Borno State following devastating floods in Maiduguri and the financial intervention by the National Assembly to assist victims.

He said the Senate had also supported legislation on student loans, minimum wage, security, education and economic development, arguing that such measures benefited Nigerians irrespective of their region.

Akpabio urged Nigerians to verify the source of politically sensitive claims before sharing them on social media.

“A quotation of this gravity cannot be authenticated by repetition, likes, shares or the number of Facebook accounts carrying it,” he said.