Akpabio Challenges Authors of Alleged Anti-North Comment to Produce Evidence

* Senate President denies threat to make northerners suffer if Tinubu loses 2027 poll

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Office of the President of the Senate has challenged the authors and promoters of a social media publication attributing an alleged anti-northern statement to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, demanding that they produce evidence or withdraw the claim and apologise publicly.

The Senate President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh, described the purported statement: “We will make sure northerners suffer from January to May if Tinubu loses the election,” as a fabrication designed to inflame ethnic sentiments ahead of the 2027 general election.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Eyiboh said Akpabio never made the statement and challenged those circulating it to produce the original video or audio recording, authenticated transcript, date, venue and details of the occasion where the Senate President allegedly made the comment.

He said: “There is no video, audio recording, speech, interview, press release, transcript or credible news report in which those words were uttered by him.”

According to him, a photograph carrying words placed beneath it could not constitute evidence of such a serious allegation.

“A photograph carrying words placed beneath it is not evidence; it is merely an allegation wearing typography,” he said.

Eyiboh specifically challenged Mr. Ibrahim Umar Ammar, whom he identified as being associated with the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation and as Coordinator of ADC-NYAF, Kano State, as well as others involved in creating, publishing or circulating the material, to substantiate the allegation.

He urged those behind the publication to identify the occasion, date, venue, journalists and media organisations that purportedly witnessed or reported the alleged statement.

“If Engr. Ammar or anyone else claims merely to have reposted the material rather than originated it, then let him identify the source from whom he obtained it and provide the original publication,” he said.

The Senate President’s spokesman said establishing the chain of publication would help determine those responsible for creating the alleged fabrication, knowingly republishing it as fact or coordinating its dissemination.

He said if no evidence existed, those responsible should withdraw the material, apologise publicly and stop what he described as an attempt to poison Nigeria’s political atmosphere with ethnic propaganda.

Eyiboh argued that the alleged statement was particularly dangerous because of its potential to deepen regional and ethnic divisions at a time the country was approaching another major electoral contest.

“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 maintained that political parties and candidates should contest elections based on ideas, records, policies and alternative visions rather than through allegedly fabricated quotations capable of threatening national cohesion.

The Senate President’s media aide also dismissed the allegation by pointing to Akpabio’s political relationships and official appointments, which he said cut across regional lines.

He noted that the Senate President’s governing partnership with Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin of Kano, as well as the presence of northerners among senior officials and aides in his office, contradicted attempts to portray Akpabio as hostile to the region.

Among the aides cited was Alhaji Dr Jibril Lawal Tafida, Special Adviser on NGO and Diaspora Matters.

Eyiboh recalled that Akpabio’s emergence as Senate President was supported by prominent northern political leaders and senators and that he defeated his challenger by 63 votes to 46 during the election of presiding officers of the 10th Senate.

He also cited the emergence of Barau as Deputy Senate President on the same day, saying the development demonstrated the cross-regional political partnership at the leadership of the Senate.

The statement further highlighted legislative interventions targeted at northern development under Akpabio’s leadership.

According to Eyiboh, the Senate passed legislation establishing the North-West Development Commission to address infrastructural, economic and security challenges confronting the region.

He also cited the North-Central Development Commission legislation, which was subsequently signed into law, as well as legislation establishing a Federal Polytechnic in Rano, Kano State, and a Federal University of Health Sciences in Tsafe, Zamfara State.

“These are tangible institutional interventions intended to promote education, reconstruction, employment and development across northern communities, not the actions of a leader plotting their suffering,” Eyiboh said.

He further recalled Akpabio’s personal visit to Borno State following devastating floods in Maiduguri, saying the Senate President mobilised the solidarity of the National Assembly for victims of the disaster.

According to him, the Senate contributed N74 million to assist flood victims as part of a combined N174 million intervention by the two chambers of the National Assembly.

Eyiboh also listed legislation on student loans, minimum wage, security, education and economic development among measures passed by the National Assembly, arguing that their benefits were available to Nigerians irrespective of their geopolitical zones.

He warned that freedom of political expression should not be interpreted as a licence to manufacture statements capable of provoking ethnic hostility.

“Political freedom carries political responsibility, particularly in a diverse country where inflammatory falsehoods can have consequences far beyond the electoral contest in which they are deployed,” he said.

The Senate President’s office subsequently appealed to Nigerians not to circulate the disputed publication without first establishing its authenticity.

Eyiboh said a claim of such magnitude could not become credible merely because it had been repeatedly posted, liked or shared on social media.

“Nigerians should therefore refuse to become unwitting transmission belts for this dangerous falsehood. Before sharing it, demand the primary evidence,” he said.

He maintained that the burden of proof rested with those alleging that Akpabio made the statement, arguing that the Senate President could not reasonably be expected to prove that he did not utter words allegedly made at an unidentified location, on an unidentified date and before an unidentified audience.

He said: “The demand is therefore straightforward and categorical: produce the original video, produce the original audio, produce an authenticated transcript, name the occasion, give the date and venue, and identify the media organisations that witnessed or reported the statement.

“If none of these can be produced, admit that the quotation was fabricated, withdraw it immediately and apologise publicly.”

Eyiboh urged political actors to ensure that the 2027 electoral contest remained vigorous but responsible, stressing that parties should interrogate records, challenge policies, expose failures, defend achievements and present competing visions for the country.

He warned against exploiting ethnic sensitivities for electoral advantage, saying Nigeria had already paid a heavy price for political manipulation of its ethnic and regional differences.

“The north is not an electoral weapon. The south is not an enemy. Ethnicity is not campaign ammunition. And Nigeria’s unity must never become collateral damage in anybody’s campaign for power,” he said.