Nigeria’s Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, is facing a backlash over snide remarks widely interpreted as mocking his successor, ex-Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State.
At a recent event in the state, Mr Akpabio appeared to contrast the religious identity of the current Governor, Umo Eno, with that of Mr Emmanuel.
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“We’ve not had it this good,” Mr Akpabio said.
“There was a time we used to bring in people called deacons. When they come and deacon, in less than three months, they will change from deacon to Mr.”
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The Senate president also referenced chieftaincy titles allegedly acquired in Ghana before praising Mr Eno for remaining “a Pastor.”
The remarks, circulated on Facebook by Attah Ikiddeh, a former special assistant to Mr Akpabio on diaspora matters, sparked widespread reactions across the state, with many describing them as petty, unnecessary, and beneath the office of the Senate president.
A journalist, Itoro Etti, posted a video of the Senate president’s remarks on Facebook
Mr Emmanuel, a former executive director at Zenith Bank and a deacon in the United Evangelical Church before becoming governor, has not publicly responded to Mr Akpabio’s remarks.
Since leaving office in 2023, and after his successor, Mr Eno, defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Emmanuel has not made public comments against Mr Akpabio and Governor Eno.
History of public attacks
The latest comments revived memories of previous remarks Mr Akpabio had made against Mr Emmanuel since the former governor refused to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC.
In an August 2018 report, this newspaper reported that Mr Akpabio denied saying he regretted making Mr Emmanuel governor but admitted he was disappointed by their fractured relationship. He accused unnamed persons around Mr Emmanuel of fuelling their frosty relations and claimed he was politically persecuted after leaving office.
The report also captured how the Senate president lamented what he described as attempts to erase his political influence in the state after helping Mr Emmanuel to power in 2015.
Months later, in May 2019, this newspaper again reported another sharp criticism by Mr Akpabio in which he said “history will judge” whether he was right in supporting Mr Emmanuel’s emergence as governor.
In that report, Mr Akpabio accused the Emmanuel administration of intolerance and political vendetta while portraying himself as a victim of betrayal.
Similarly, The Punch reported in January 2019 that Mr Akpabio openly declared that he regretted “imposing” Mr Emmanuel on the Akwa Ibom people as governor. He alleged that the former governor abandoned those who helped him to power and failed to sustain their political structure.
The Punch report also detailed how Mr Akpabio apologised to the Akwa Ibom people for supporting Mr Emmanuel’s candidacy, remarks that generated controversy at the time.
In another criticism published by Leadership in December 2020, Mr Akpabio said he had “forgiven” his successor despite what he described as political humiliation and attacks during Mr Emmanuel’s administration.
The report quoted the Senate president as saying he had chosen peace over continued political confrontation, although critics argued that his repeated references to Mr Emmanuel suggested lingering bitterness.
‘Petty and childish.’
The latest remarks have drawn criticism from politicians, academics, and Akwa Ibom residents.
“Akpabio should stop being petty and childish,” Etim Etim, a member of a campaign organisation set up by Governor Eno ahead of the 2027 general elections, wrote on the comment section of Mr Ikiddeh’s post on Facebook.
Another commenter, Akaninyene Gibson, contrasted Mr Emmanuel’s silence with Mr Akpabio’s repeated remarks.
“A man who says nothing is powerful,” he wrote. “Udom has made me know that silence is powerful.”
Odudu Essien described the Senate president’s comments as evidence that “AKPABIO is not mature in politics.”
Others defended Mr Emmanuel more aggressively.
“Mr Emmanuel’s maturity is second to none. He will not and never respond to vomit from haters and ethnic bigots,” Blessing Peter wrote.
Thomas Thomas, a media aide to Governor Eno, although he did not mention Mr Akpabio’s name, said this is “pettiness and childishness raised to the power of 2.”
Mr Thomas’ Facebook post drew a response from Herbert Batta, a professor of communication at the University of Uyo.
“Added age has not even helped, not to talk of higher office,” Mr Batta wrote. “He is indirectly denigrating the title of the one who decided to align with him out of political expediency.”
Silence and legacy
The controversy has also reopened debate over Mr Emmanuel’s legacy and Governor Eno’s leadership.
“I would choose Mr Emmanuel,” Etimbuk Ekpenyong wrote in a Facebook post. “See how Mr Eno has made me miss Udom Emmanuel.”
A journalist, Vincent Aluu, said the former governor “deserves respect by every standard.”
“Every single day, it is Mr Emmanuel this, Mr Emmanuel that. At some point, enough must be enough,” he wrote.
A US-based sports consultant, Sam Etuk Jr., described the sustained attacks on Mr Emmanuel as “the politics of vilification.”
“A society that constantly attacks individuals who choose restraint, dignity, and measured silence risks encouraging a culture where aggression and noise become the only recognised political virtues,” he wrote.
Earlier in the month, Leo Umana, a former official of the Akwa Ibom State Government, wrote an article on Facebook, praising the former governor, Mr Emmanuel for not commenting on political issues in the state.
“The kind of politics you played is second to none. Nobody can really quote you and point at what you said or didn’t say. That is maturity, self-discipline, and contentment. In a situation that we are in today, you’re being remembered for so many things.”
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