Godswill Akpabio, the former governor of Akwa Ibom State, has emerged as the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly.
He was sworn in as the Senate President after garnering 63 votes, defeating his rival, Yari Abdulaziz, who got 46 votes.
Here are things you need to know about Senate President Akpabio.
1. Godswill Akpabio is a Nigerian lawyer and politician, born on December 9, 1962.
2. He is the son of Chief Obot Akpabio and Madam Lucy Obot Akpabio (née Inyangetor) of Ukana, Ikot Ntuen in Essien Udim Local Government Area.
3. He served as governor of Akwa Ibom State from 2007 to 2015 under the platform of People Democratic Party.
4. Akpabio also served as minister for Niger Delta Affairs from 2019 to 2022.
5. He resigned as minister on May 11, 2022, on the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to contest in the presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
6. In 2002, he was appointed Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources by the then Governor Obong Victor Attah in Akwa Ibom State.
7. In 2013, Akpabio was elected chairman of the newly formed PDP Governors Forum.
8. In 2015, he contested and won the Senate seat of the Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
9. Akpabio was nominated for the position of Senate Minority Leader by the South-South caucus of the PDP.
10. August 2018, he resigned as the Senate Minority Leader, after he had announced his defection to the APC.