THE sacked Adamawa Senator Ishaku Abbo, has accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of orchestrating his removal from the 10th Senate.
Abbo, a member of the Progressives Congress (APC), made this allegation on Monday, October 16, while speaking with journalists shortly after his removal by the Court of Appeal.
In what he described as a targeted move against him and four colleagues, Abbo stated that his removal was retaliation for opposing Akpabio’s Senate Presidency aspiration.
The ICIR reported that the Court of Appeal in Abuja sacked Abbo, who represented Adamawa North Senatorial District. In its ruling on Monday, October 16, the Court declared Amos Yohannah of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the senatorial election.
INEC initially declared Abbo as senator-elect in February 2023, but Yohanna challenged the decision at the Election Petition Tribunal.
Despite dismissing Yohanna’s plea, Abbo, represented by his lawyer Johnson Usman, appealed the tribunal’s ruling through appeal number CA/YL/EP/AD/SEN/06/2023 at the Appeal Court.
Reacting to the Appeal Court’s ruling, Abbo said four other senators, including Orji Uzor Kalu, representing Abia North, were the next targets for removal from the Senate.
He said: “I have it from a reliable source that myself and four other senators within the fold of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will be removed from the Senate through rulings from the courts, all because of working against the emergence of Akpabio as President of the 10th Senate.
“I won’t mention the names of all the four other ones targeted, but the next in line is Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.”
He expressed disbelief that the Appeal Court overturned his result despite securing a victory with a substantial margin of over 11,000 votes against Yohanna in the election.
“The court judgment is strange, and the judiciary needs to please remain the last hope of the common man,” Abbo added.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M