10th Assembly: S’South APC women professionals back Akpabio for Senate Presidency

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10th Assembly: S’South APC women professionals back Akpabio for Senate Presidency

Women professionals in the ruling All Progressives Congress APC from the South South geo-political zone have thrown their weight behind the nomination of the former governor of the Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio for the position of the President of the 10th Senate.

Coordinator of the South South Women Professionals and former candidate of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Nsit Atai Constituency, Hon. Blessing Ossom said Akpabio’s Senate Presidency would achieve the 35% Affirmative Action for women.

In the statement issued Sunday in Abuja, the women said; “We as mothers from the six States of the South South geo-political zone of the All Progressives Congress hereby align ourselves with the decision of the National leadership of our Party, wherein our national leaders released a statement, zoning the Senate Presidency of the 10th Senate to the South South geo-political zone, and nominating Senator Akpabio for the position. We thank our leaders for standing on the side of truth, fairness, and justice.

The statement further added that; “It is common knowledge that women benefited in numerous ways during the administration of Senator Akpabio as Governor. It is very fresh in our memories how he built houses for widows and for the very poor and vulnerable women in Akwa Ibom State. It would also interest Nigerians to note that his wife, Mrs. Unomma Ekatte Akpabio championed the cause of women and businesses that were established, which transformed them from abject poverty status to affluence of wealth in no distant time. Of course, this earned Mrs. Akpabio the popular “Eka Esit Mbom” (meaning the mother of merciful heart) of Akwa Ibom State.

“Knowing Akpabio’s antecedents, we are sure that he will champion the 35 percent affirmative action wherein women will occupy percentage of government positions. Women have proven very capable of being excellent managers and administrators, and therefore, we support Senator Akpabio because it is our desire to see our members occupy sensitive positions of leadership. It is very glaring that as mothers, whenever there is mis-governance, looting and squandering of public resources, the women bear the highest brunt because we live with the pains of seeing our lovely children leaving Nigeria for greener pastures in their numbers.

“We hereby discountenance and disassociate ourselves from a faceless group of women by the name South South Women Compatriots, wherein they claim that they rejected Senator Akpabio as the Senate President. We encourage well-meaning Nigerians to ignore them as it is our view that they are paid political jobbers.

“We are of the view that from 1999 till date, the South South geo-political zone has not produced a Senate President and it is fair and just that every zone line up behind the South-South zone to produce the Senate President at this critical time. In the last count, the South East geo-political zone has produced five senate presidents from 1999 till date and equally produced Deputy Senate President for 8 years. The North Central has produced and the North East has produced Senate Presidents.

“We therefore call on all other zones to reciprocate the good gestures of the south south; by supporting a proud son of South South geo-political zone at this critical time for the position of the Senate President”, the women added.