“You can’t fix Nigeria if you can’t fix your party” — Akpabio to Peter Obi
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has slammed Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, urging him to put his house in order before making controversial remarks about Nigeria.
Akpabio made the comments on Thursday, May 8, 2025, during a valedictory session held in honour of late Niger Delta elder statesman, Pa Edwin Clark, at the National Assembly in Abuja. The motion for the session was moved by Senate Majority Leader Opeyemi Bamidele.
Reacting to Obi’s recent statement that “the labour of Nigeria’s heroes past is now in vain,” Akpabio strongly disagreed and questioned Obi’s leadership credibility.
“Let our brother, Peter Obi, show leadership, like Edwin Clark did, by resolving first the crisis in the Labour Party,” Akpabio said.
“For a man who wants to run Nigeria, you have one of the smallest parties in Nigeria, and you cannot even resolve the crisis in that Labour Party. Is it the crisis of Boko Haram that you will come and resolve in Nigeria?”
Akpabio also used the occasion to highlight his achievements as former governor of Akwa Ibom State, listing key infrastructure projects, social programs, and religious outreach initiatives he spearheaded during his tenure.
“I can tell you about the flyovers, the best international hospital, the best digitalised governor’s office, the international stadium, and the free and compulsory education I provided for Nigerians,” he stated.
He accused Obi and similar presidential hopefuls of using social media platforms to sow division, without demonstrating the leadership qualities required to unify or manage even their political platforms.
“Those who are aspiring as presidential candidates and trying to cause division with their mouths, using social media, tell them to resolve the small crisis in the smallest party they have in Nigeria first, before they come to talk about the larger Nigeria,” he added.
Akpabio concluded by invoking the memory of the late Edwin Clark, suggesting that the elder statesman would have also called for measured speech and party discipline.
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