By Akinwale Kasali
Senator Elisha Abbo who was sacked by the Court of Appeal on Monday has apologized to Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, for alleging Akpabio plotted his removal from the Senate.
In a shocking reaction to his sack, Abbo alleged that Akpabio was behind his sack by the Court of Appeal Panel. He said Akpabio targeted him because he was against him when he, Akpabio was running for the office of the Senate President. He, also, alleged that four other Senators, whose names he didn’t mention, except that of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, are, also, in line to be sacked, no thanks to Akpabio.
Akpabio, in a statement signed by his Media Aide strongly denied Abbo’s allegation.
But Abbo while speaking in an interview on Arise Television during a Live Programme on Wednesday, apologized to the Senate President over his allegation.
He said, “ I have to say this with all sense of humility and responsibility that the press release we issued yesterday (Tuesday), was premature and based on the available information at our disposal yesterday.
“As of today, we have discovered a lot of things, and yesterday night I had a discussion with the Senate President, and I am convinced that he is not involved. He quoted Akpabio to have told him: “I swear by my mother’s grave that I’m not involved; I don’t even know that you’re in court,” he said.
Abbo supported Senator Abdulaziz Yari, former Governor of Zamfara State for the office of the President.
He described the judgment which sacked him as a coup against democracy. He insisted that even though the Court declared Peoples Democratic Party’s Amos Yohanna as the winner of the February 25, 2023 election, he won the exercise by polling 11,000 votes more than Yohanna, and would certainly be back to the Senate in 2027.
The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justices, led by the Honourable Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, vacated the Election Tribunal’s judgement which earlier affirmed Abbo of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the valid winner of the Senatorial seat.
It held that there is merit in the appeal that was lodged by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the election, Amos Yohanna.
