Akpabio: Some Lawmakers Have Hypertension Over Return Tickets
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has blamed the failure of some National Assembly members to secure return tickets during party primaries on poor grassroots preparation, disclosing that several of his colleagues are battling hypertension over their political survival.
Akpabio spoke on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Abuja at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress National Campaign Council for the June 20, 2026, Ekiti State Governorship Election. He urged lawmakers to stop relying on his intervention after losing on the ground, insisting that party supremacy must be upheld.
“I am only pleading with the party that when they bring out their final list, then they need to show that they are carrying all of us along. Some of my people are having hypertension,” Akpabio said, adding that while the President and state governors retain their constitutional rights to make political choices, lawmakers must always do their homework before facing the electorate. He advised those who are hypertensive to take care of their health before the final list is released, tying the anxiety to the yet-to-be-released list of APC senatorial candidates for the 2027 elections.
“When anybody has lost the election on the ground, please don’t expect me, as Chairman of the National Assembly, to come and plead with you to put the person on the list. It simply means the person has lost. So, I want to congratulate those who won the primaries, and then plead with my colleagues, both in the House of Representatives and the Senate, that you should have done your homework well before going for the primaries,” Akpabio declared.
The Senate President serves as co-chairman of the council, which is chaired by Kaduna State Governor Senator Uba Sani. The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed June 20, 2026, for the Ekiti governorship election, with the council comprising serving and former governors, principal officers of the National Assembly, and other party leaders.
Sani described the forthcoming poll as a referendum on the performance of incumbent Governor Biodun Oyebanji. He said the party had set an ambitious but achievable target of over 500,000 votes, aiming to double the 187,557 recorded in the 2022 election.
“Our goal for the upcoming election is ambitious yet achievable. We are targeting an increase of over 100 per cent in the number of votes for Governor Oyebanji, and a margin of no less than 500,000 votes over his closest rival. This is not just a numerical target; it symbolizes our commitment to ensuring that the voice of the people is amplified and their trust in good governance is rewarded,” the Kaduna governor said.
He noted that the council had established structures across all 16 local government areas and 177 wards in Ekiti to drive grassroots mobilisation, adding that Oyebanji’s second-term bid had received an unprecedented boost through endorsements from all living former governors of the state, regardless of political affiliation.
Sani commended the reforms of the party leadership and President Bola Tinubu, which he said had empowered sub-national entities like Ekiti to flourish. He added that the targeted 500,000 votes would serve as a direct political repayment to Tinubu for his administration’s support to state governors across the federation.