Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday dashed hopes of early crushing of the rising insecurity in the country, declaring that it is being sponsored in relation to the 2027 elections, saying because of this, it will only stop after the elections.
The Senate President also defended the embattled chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, amid ongoing controversy over an alleged 2023 post-election social media post, insisting that the tweet did not indicate support for any political party at the time it was made.
Speaking at the official launch of the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) Corporate Headquarters in Abuja, Akpabio said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is performing so well that those opposed to him do not know what to do to stop his reelection than to sponsor insecurity.
Stating that immediately after the elections, insecurity will be a thing of the past, the Senate President said: “Insecurity is increasing because election is coming, because people don’t know what to do again. Immediately after election, two weeks after election, the insecurity will stop. The insecurity is being sponsored by people.”
Mocking the opposition for being in disarray, Akpabio aimed a dig Peter Obi, candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 Presidential election and a leading contender for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ticket, saying, “Opposition is in disarray. Someone got six million votes and abandoned the party, abandoned the six million votes and went shopping for another platform and they are blaming the ruling party.”
He appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the present administration, adding: “Let Nigerians be patient with you, you are doing the right thing.”
On Amupitan, Akpabio alleged that critics have shifted focus to attacking electoral officials, citing the tweet allegedly linked to the INEC chairman.
“Then they changed and said, ‘okay let’s attack the people that will do the election,’ and they brought out a tweet, the one they said the INEC chairman wrote, ‘Victory is sure,’” he said.
Defending the electoral umpire, Akpabio stressed that the statement did not favour any political party. “He didn’t say victory is sure for APC, he didn’t say victory is sure for PDP,” Akpabio said of Amupitan,
He also referenced legal arguments surrounding the issue, noting that claims about the tweet being manipulated had been raised but largely ignored.
“And the man (Amupitan) said, ‘it was manipulated,’ but nobody wants to hear. But for me, whether manipulated or not, he said ‘victory is sure,’ he was not chairman of INEC, he was just a mere lecturer. Anybody can support anybody he wishes to support, but when you are on a seat, you have to think of all the entire country and all the entire populace, and that’s what they are doing,” Akpabio stated.
The controversy followed allegations that a social media account previously linked to the INEC chairman posted messages perceived as supportive of President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 general elections.
However, Amupitan denied owning the account or authoring the posts, maintaining that he had no affiliation with any political party and has never worked for one.
Akpabio noted that the NRS chairman, Dr Zacch Adedeji, is the first tax-man that Nigerians love, “even in the Bible people don’t like tax collectors. Zacch has done very well and Nigerians are happy with him.”
Among those who attended the event aside from Akpabio were President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who commissioned the complex, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu. Others include Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume; National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; members of the Federal Executive Council; and Governors including Babagana Zulum (Borno), Charles Soludo (Anambra), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), and Usman Ododo (Kogi).
The newly inaugurated complex, described as a world-class edifice, features 16 floors spread across three towers and has the capacity to accommodate about 3,000 personnel.
President Tinubu had in June 2025 signed the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, which officially transformed FIRS into NRS.
