Senate President Godswill Akpabio has dismissed reports suggesting that he suffered a medical emergency and was flown to London for treatment, describing the claims as completely untrue.
Reacting to the reports, Kenny Okolugbo, Consultant on Communications and Strategy to the Senate President, firmly denied the allegations. Speaking with Daily Post, Okolugbo said the story circulating online was “false” and amounted to “fake news,” insisting that there was no truth to claims about Akpabio’s health.
The rebuttal follows an earlier report by an online platform which alleged that the Senate President collapsed earlier this month and was airlifted abroad on a private jet for urgent medical care. The report further claimed that his alleged health condition prevented him from carrying out official duties, including presiding over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) interactive session.
Akpabio was absent at the MTEF/FSP engagement, a major legislative event that outlines Nigeria’s medium-term fiscal direction. In his stead, Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi represented the Senate President at the session, an absence that fueled speculation about his health.
Sources quoted by SaharaReporters alleged that Akpabio had been taken to London for treatment and suggested that this was not the first time he had sought medical attention abroad. The report also claimed that some senators had travelled overseas to visit him and that medical professionals had allegedly advised him to focus on his health.
Despite these claims, Akpabio’s camp has maintained that the reports are unfounded. No official medical statement has been issued, and the Senate President’s aides insist that the narrative of a health crisis is a fabrication.
Akpabio was last seen publicly on December 9, when the Senate approved President Bola Tinubu’s request for the deployment of Nigerian troops to the Republic of Benin.
As conflicting accounts continue to circulate, the Senate President’s office has urged the public to disregard unverified reports and rely on official communication for accurate information.
