Senate President Ahmad Lawan and former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio have made the senatorial list of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 general election.
To beat the June 17 deadline, APC sent the list to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for formal recognition preparatory to the National Assembly election next year.
Controversies have surrounded the senators’ participation in the election held between May 27 and 28, 2022, after Lawan lost and Akpabio withdrew from the party’s presidential primary they contested in.
The Senatorial candidate of the party from Lawan’s zone (Yobe North Senatorial District), Bashir Sheriff Machina reportedly refused to step down for him, saying he bought the party’s nomination form and expression of interest and was duly elected at the party’s primary monitored by INEC.
After his loss, Akpabio, through the party, was said to have written to INEC in Akwa Ibom to monitor the re-run in the Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District on June 9, but Mike Igini, the state resident electoral commissioner, who many accuse of having bias against Obong Stephen Ntukekpo, Akwa Ibom APC Chairman observed that the primary was unnecessary hence he refused to monitor the exercise.
Though Obongemem Ekperikpe Ekpo who ‘won’ the Senatorial election conducted at Ikot Ekpene Township Stadium on May 28 had purportedly withdrawn from the race for Akpabio, DIG Udom Udo Ekpoudom of Austin Ekanem’s faction that was declared illegal by the Federal High Court, Abuja said to have ‘won’ the primary conducted at Government Primary School, Ikot Ekpene has also surrendered the senatorial seat to Akpabio.
Meanwhile, APC has also submitted the names of Dr. Emaeyak Ukpong as candidate for Akwa Ibom North East and that of Martins Dennis Udo-inyang for Akwa Ibom South Senatorial Districts to INEC.
