Senate President Godswill Akpabio has delivered a pointed message to outgoing governors, especially those nearing the end of their second terms, warning them against choosing loyalists as successors based solely on blind obedience or subservience.
Akpabio gave the advice during the inauguration of the first 30-kilometre phase of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project. The high-profile event was attended by President Bola Tinubu, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, Finance Minister Wale Edun, Works Minister Dave Umahi, Governors Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), and other dignitaries.
As a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Akpabio drew from personal experience, cautioning that the habit of appointing sycophants—individuals who show exaggerated loyalty but lack vision and leadership capacity—often ends in betrayal and governance failure.
“We have a president who has both sight and vision. That’s what leadership requires,” Akpabio said.
“To our second-term governors: do not hand over power to anyone just because they kneel before you or their spouse rolls on the floor. That is not leadership preparation.”
He stressed that succession must be based on merit, competence, and preparedness—not flattery.
“When you hand over power to someone who’s not even seeking it or is clearly unprepared, you’re setting yourself—and your state—up for disappointment. This is how betrayals often begin.”
Akpabio’s comments come amid growing criticism of Nigeria’s entrenched godfatherism, where outgoing governors install loyalists as successors to maintain control by proxy. While some of these political arrangements appear stable initially, many have led to public fallouts, power struggles, and governance setbacks.
“Progressive governors are doing well today because they are led by a man with vision,” he added, referring to President Tinubu.
Akpabio’s remarks serve as both a warning and a call for a shift away from patronage politics toward competence-based leadership—especially as Nigeria grapples with critical governance and developmental challenges at the state level.
