Media Aide to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Kenny Okolugbo, has criticised a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse, over what he described as “irresponsible and misleading statements” made during a recent television interview.
Pearse, while speaking on ARISE Television on October 4, alleged that Akpabio had corruption cases with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) dating back to his tenure as Governor of Akwa Ibom State. He further questioned the integrity of the 10th National Assembly, describing it as a “rubber-stamp” institution and claiming it was unsafe for female senators.
Responding in a separate interview on Saturday, Okolugbo dismissed Pearse’s comments as “completely unfounded and reckless,” insisting that there are no EFCC investigations against the Senate President.
“I think Adetokunbo Pearse was quite irresponsible with his submission,” Okolugbo stated. “He referred to Senator Akpabio as a criminal and claimed he had EFCC cases, which is false. I contacted the EFCC, and they confirmed there is no current or past investigation involving the Senate President.”
Okolugbo also refuted Pearse’s claim that Akpabio did not contest for the Senate, explaining that the matter had been settled by the Supreme Court, which affirmed Akpabio’s candidacy following the APC senatorial rerun primary held on June 10, 2022.
He added that the Senate President’s legal team had issued a letter to Pearse, demanding a retraction and public apology within three days.
“He has been given three days to retract those statements and issue a public apology on major TV stations and newspapers. If he fails to do so, we will make an example of him so people will stop using Akpabio as a punch bag,” Okolugbo warned.
The aide further dismissed claims that women in the Senate were unsafe or marginalised under Akpabio’s leadership, describing such assertions as baseless and politically motivated.
