If any loyalist kneels for you, don't pick them as your successor - Akpabio warns govs

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has warned governors winding down their second term in office to be wary of sycophant loyalists when selecting their successors.

The former Akwa Ibom Governor stressed that governors who pick successors because they kneel before them might become victims of betrayal from the same people they have helped to power.

He gave the warning while speaking at the commissioning of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway’s first 30 kilometres in the Lekki area on Saturday, May 31, 2025.

Akpabio highlighted the importance of vision in leadership, urging second-term governors, especially those in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), to prioritise visionary leadership over patronising loyalty.

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“We have a president who has both sight and vision. And this, for me, is something I must advise our governors, particularly those of them who are in their second term. Do not give power to anybody who is not looking for power," the Senate President said.

Don’t give power to anybody who is not prepared. Don’t go hiding in your heart that this boy is very subservient; he is always kneeling when he is talking to me, and his wife is always rolling on the floor. I think I should make this one the governor.

If you do that, you are giving power to somebody who is not prepared for governance, and they will disappoint you. This is where betrayals normally start. I am just trying to give some advice.

For the progressive governors, I believe that all of you are doing well because you are being led by a man who has both sight and vision.

President Bola Tinubu, Works Minister Dave Umahi, and second-term governors Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), and Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos) were among the dignitaries who graced the event.

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