A 2016 Facebook post by Senate President Godswill Akpabio has resurfaced and gone viral amid a fresh wave of defections rocking the Nigerian Senate, reigniting debates over political consistency and constitutional fidelity.
The post, made when Akpabio was a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), categorically stated that any lawmaker who defects from the party on whose platform they were elected should forfeit their seat in accordance with the Nigerian Constitution.
“As lawmakers, Senators must not encourage political rascality... The Constitution is clear on this: if a Senator defects to another political party, he loses his seat,” Akpabio wrote in November 2016 in reaction to the defection of Senator Yele Omogunwa from PDP to APC.
Ironically, nearly a decade later, Akpabio, now presiding as Senate President under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is being accused of turning a blind eye to the same constitutional provisions he once vehemently defended.
The storm erupted after all three PDP senators from Kebbi State — Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North), and Garba Maidoki (Kebbi South) — officially defected to the APC on May 9, following a high-profile meeting with President Bola Tinubu. Earlier in February, Delta North Senator Ned Nwoko also dumped the PDP for the APC.
Despite the growing list of defections, Akpabio has remained silent on the issue of declaring the affected seats vacant — a silence that has drawn sharp criticism from opposition lawmakers and political analysts alike.
In protest, PDP senators staged a dramatic walkout during plenary, echoing Akpabio’s own 2016 action when he and fellow PDP senators walked out of the Senate chamber over what they termed a "constitutional breach."
“We cannot stand by and watch as the sanctity of our democratic institutions is eroded by political expediency,” Senator Abba Moro (Benue South) declared on behalf of the aggrieved lawmakers. “If the Senate President once believed in protecting party mandates, he must now prove it by his actions.”
The now-viral post has reignited debate over the ethical and legal standards of Nigerian legislators, with many Nigerians taking to social media to call out Akpabio for what they describe as glaring hypocrisy and political convenience.
“He was right in 2016. What changed? Power?” one commenter wrote, while another posted, “This is why Nigerians don’t trust politicians — they say one thing in opposition and do the exact opposite in power.”
As the controversy deepens, pressure is mounting on Akpabio to take a definitive stand on the constitutional implications of defections or risk further erosion of his credibility and the integrity of the Senate he leads.
Political observers say this episode may define Akpabio’s legacy as Senate President — whether as a principled defender of constitutional order or a partisan leader accused of selective justice.