Eseme Eyiboh, special adviser on media and publicity to Godswill Akpabio, has refuted Elisha Abbo’s claims that the senate president orchestrated his removal as the senator representing Adamawa north.
In October 2023, the court of appeal in Abuja annulled the election of Abbo and declared Amos Yohanna, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the rightful winner of the senatorial race.
Speaking on the Arise News programme PrimeTime, Abbo claimed that Akpabio had warned him in advance that five senators would be removed.
“He told me that five senators would be removed. I asked how he knew, and he said, ‘I am the senate president. I know’. True to his words, five of us were removed. I had no idea that I was one of them,” he said.
However, in a statement released Thursday, Eyiboh criticised Abbo’s allegations, calling them an attempt to deflect responsibility for his legal troubles.
Eyiboh pointed out that Abbo had retracted a similar accusation in 2023, acknowledging that his previous claims were premature and based on faulty information.
He noted that the court of appeal’s ruling, which found Abbo’s election invalid, was made after a “thorough” legal process in line with the constitution.
“It is sad and regrettable that despite publicly retracting a similar allegation in 2023—after admitting that his earlier accusation was premature and based on the available information at our disposal—Mr. Abbo has once again embarked on a campaign of misinformation and blame transfer,” Eyiboh said.
“Following a discussion with the Senate President last year, Mr. Abbo himself acknowledged that Senator Akpabio had no involvement in the judicial process that led to his removal. It is puzzling that he would now return to the same baseless allegations he once renounced.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Court of Appeal, after a thorough legal process, ruled unequivocally that Mr. Abbo’s presence in the Red Chamber was in error. The court determined that he was not validly elected as the Senator for Adamawa North, and consequently, he was removed.
“The court acted in accordance with the extant laws and the Constitution within its sacred duty to uphold the rule of law. Senator Akpabio, a seasoned lawyer and democrat, holds the independence of the judiciary in the highest regard and would never interfere in its processes.
“It is therefore both illogical and irresponsible for Mr. Abbo to now turn around and allege that the Senate President influenced a court judgment—a judgment which he himself accepted at the time and for which he expressed contrition for his earlier unfounded claims.”
In response to Abbo’s claims about being denied official benefits after his ouster, Eyiboh clarified that Akpabio only approves payments that have been vetted according to senate procedures.
“Mr. Abbo has also sought to create the impression that he was unjustly denied official benefits following his ouster. He claims entitlement to salaries, allowances, and even an official vehicle, despite the court’s declaration that his tenure was null and void ab initio,” he added.
“In matters of financial and administrative processing, it must be stated that the Senate President only approves payments that have been duly vetted and forwarded by the appropriate administrative units, in line with extant laws, Senate procedures, and standard due diligence practices.
“If any of Mr. Abbo’s claims for payment did not reach the desk of the Senate President, it is because they failed to meet these lawful standards—not because of any personal or political vendetta.”
