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The 10th Senate, Nigeria at 65, and legislative imperative
By Ken Harries, Esq
At 65, Nigeria finds itself in a reflective mood, and rightly so. Independence anniversaries are not just occasions for parades, gun salutes, and flag-waving. They are moments when nations pause to take stock, to ask if their institutions have matured in wisdom, steadiness, and service to the people. With this understanding, it can be said that few institutions mirror the turbulent journey of Nigeria’s democracy as vividly as the legislature.
From the fragile parliament of the First Republic through the long intermissions of military-era suspension to the sometimes noisy and fractious assemblies of the Fourth Republic, the National Assembly has embodied both the promise and the perils of the Nigerian democratic experiment. As the Red Chamber resumes under the stewardship of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, GCON, the 10th Senate can fairly be described as a maturing legislature that has delivered uncommon achievements with unprecedented vigour and steadiness.
The fact speaks clearly for itself. RES IPSA LIQUITUR. In less than two years, the Senate has passed more than 900 bills, with over 58 already signed into law by President Bola Tinubu. It has reviewed and passed over 20 executive bills, showing a willingness to collaborate with the executive arm while still retaining its independence. To be clear, this pace of legislative productivity is remarkable by any standard and the best in the annals of our history. It signals an institution committed to stabilising Nigeria’s fiscal, monetary, and political environment through purposeful and constructive lawmaking and other legislative engagements.
The Senate’s imprint on education is perhaps its most people-centred achievement. The National Education Fund Act provides a sustainable financing model for tertiary institutions. The Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act expands access to higher education for indigent students who might otherwise have been locked out of opportunity. The Out-of-School Children Education Act confronts one of Nigeria’s most stubborn social challenges by bringing learning to the margins where poverty often shuts doors. While these measures echo earlier efforts from Nigeria’s republican past, they are sharper, more inclusive, and better designed for the demands of today’s youth.
The economic front has also been impacted by the nation-building ambitions of the 10th Senate. Sweeping tax reforms, including the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Joint Revenue Board Bill, and the Nigeria Revenue Service Bill, have streamlined policy, reduced evasion, and boosted revenue without overburdening citizens. The Securities and Exchange Commission Amendment Act has strengthened investor confidence, while the Investment and Securities Bill provides clearer frameworks for investment. The Electricity Amendment Act updates energy policy for an era that must integrate renewable power and private participation.
One standout measure, the Social Security for Unemployed Graduates Act, has provided a safety net for job seekers. It reduces frustrations that often fuel restiveness among young people. To be fair, these reforms recall the liberalisation drive of the late 1990s but are better tuned to the digital age and global competition.
Security has also remained a legislative priority. The Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons Act and the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act fortifies Nigeria’s defence against multifaceted threats. These laws reflect a recognition that insecurity cannot be addressed by military might alone. It requires legal frameworks, institutional coordination, and community involvement that cut off the supply chains of violence.
Regional balance, a recurrent challenge in Nigeria’s federal arrangement, has not been neglected. The South East; South South, South West, North Central and North West Development Commission Acts are designed to reduce disparities and foster inclusive growth. The National Steel Development Act seeks to revive an industry that has long symbolised Nigeria’s industrial aspirations since independence. Even patriotic memory has been legislated into revival with the National Anthem Bill, which restored “Nigeria, We Hail Thee” to the national soundscape, evoking nostalgia and reinforcing the dignity of Nigeria’s founding years.
If these domestic milestones form one side of the 10th Senate’s record, its international diplomacy forms the other. In 2023, Senator Godswill Akpabio, GCON was elected to the Executive Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the first Nigerian in 59 years to achieve such recognition. The IPU, founded in 1889 and comprising 179 member countries, is the premier global body for parliamentary diplomacy. Akpabio’s election restores Nigeria’s voice in shaping global discourse on issues such as climate resilience, governance, and migration. His July 2025 address at the World Conference of Speakers in Geneva signalled Nigeria’s readiness to lead debates from the perspective of the Global South. This recalls the confident internationalism of Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, who in the early years of independence positioned Nigeria as a champion of African unity and non-alignment.
Without a doubt, the 10th Senate’s work is not confined to the abstract language of lawmaking. Its impact is also felt in communities across Nigeria. Each senator has an allocation for constituency projects. These funds have been channelled into visible impact: rural electrification in the North-West, healthcare centres in the Niger Delta, agricultural hubs in the South-East, and market rehabilitation nationwide. This level of grassroots visibility gives legislative output a human face.
Discerning citizens know that tone matters in politics. Unlike the gridlocks and confrontations for which the upper chamber was known in the past, the 10th Senate has cultivated a more cooperative and robust culture. Senators from across parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), and Labour Party, have set aside partisanship to advance laws in the national interest. This stability is no accident. It reflects Akpabio’s deliberate leadership style, one that combines firmness with humour, using wit to defuse tension and triggering consensus to build momentum.
Still, it must be said that the road ahead demands vigilance. With the 2027 general elections on the horizon, electoral reform stands as the next critical frontier. Committees in both chambers of the National Assembly are working on a comprehensive new Electoral Act designed to guarantee credible, inclusive, and transparent elections. Proposals under review include diaspora voting, electronic transmission of results, and tighter campaign finance regulation. Similarly, both chambers of the National Assembly are neck-deep in efforts to ensure gender parity as long clamoured for by Nigerian women.
Beyond elections, there have also been calls by civil society for a robust whistleblower protection law to fully harness whistleblowing as an anti-corruption and good governance tool. Moreover, constitutional review, judicial reform, and stronger security frameworks remain pressing challenges. And even though the Petroleum Industry Act, passed into law in 2021, established a new legal, governance, administrative, and fiscal framework for Nigeria’s petroleum industry, recent turmoils in the sector indicate the 10th Senate can still revisit the Act in the national interest.
While acknowledging all that, the reality is that at 65, Nigeria has survived the turmoil of its infancy and the missteps of middle age. The 10th Senate, under Senator Godswill Akpabio’s steady hand, exemplifies a legislature that has matured. It has moved beyond the quarrels and gridlocks of the past to become a productive force, legislating boldly, engaging the world diplomatically, and impacting lives directly at the grassroots. It has helped strengthen the scaffolding of democracy and set a course for deeper reform.
If independence anniversaries are moments for reflection, then Nigeria at 65 can take solace in the fact that its Senate is not a stumbling block but a guiding hand in the democratic journey. Under the capable and unifying leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio, the 10th Senate has emerged as a beacon of legislative achievement and democratic resilience. It signals not just what Nigeria has endured but also what it can yet become.
It is worth reiterating that inasmuch as the 10th Senate has done well, as the members resume legislative duties on October 7th, they should not rest on their oars. Much remains to be done if Nigeria is to be shaped into a modern, developed state.The 10th Senate should continue to play its central democratic role in that regard. To the Senator Akpabio’s led 10th Senate, it is not yet Uhuru!
■ Ken Harries Esq is a lawyer and an Abuja- based Development Communication Specialist.
Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election, virtually poured cold water on the burning issue of Goodluck Jonathan, for Nigerian President making a bid for the office he lost in 2915 to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, through the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Obi, who is also making another bid for the same office for the second time, told reporters on Tuesday, shortly getting a letter of clearance from the Nigerian Democratic Congress though he was not aware that the former President was contesting, he was in no position to obstruct the move as political choices were the rights of individuals to make.
Against the revelation by Babangida Aliyu, former Governor of Niger State, who spoke on behalf of Nemadi Sambo, Jonathan’s Vice President and currently in charge of the presidential screening of the Peoples Democratic Party, Obi told the reporters at the NDC National Secretariat in Abuja: “Actually, I’m not aware of that. But democracy is about people offering themselves for service and being voted for.
“I’m not in any way going around looking for who and who is contesting. I’m concentrating on how to build a better Nigeria.”
But he was quick to marshal out his plans for the country, declaring that under his presidency, Nigerians would be freed from daily lamentations coming from the parlous situation the present government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by President Bola Tinubu had plunged the country.
Hear him: “This I will do by first uniting the country because it’s not a united country. We have to govern the country by the Constitution of Nigeria, which stipulates federal character and inclusivity. The country must be united. The country must be secure.
“We want to see mothers no longer fear when their children go to school or work. We also want a country where we can travel all over Nigeria without fear. So many Nigerians today go to bed not knowing where the next meal will come from tomorrow. That must change.
“We must live in a country where people do not turn public assets and public wealth into private assets. So we must fight corruption to a standstill and make it work for everybody. Politicians are preoccupied with the next election when Nigerians are dying. That must stop.”
He also took time to explain the reason for the two-hour stretch of drilling during the screening. Saying: “This is democracy in action because NDC chooses to do things properly. So when we say this is going to be screening, it has to be done right.
“Nigerians want to know whether you meet the stipulated constitutional qualification and provide relevant documents to back them.
“This is the way to know whether everything you have said or declared is the truth and if you can answer questions posed about your commitment to building a united, secure and prosperous Nigeria. That’s why the screening took over two hours.”
Regarding his status as a sole candidate, Obi, who was accompanied by Victor Umeh, a long time ally and Senator representing Anambra Central at the National Assembly, said: “I don’t know who else has bought. So until the party says I’m the only one who expressed interest, that’s it.”
Only an official pronouncement by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), seems to be last barrier to cross for Peter Obi to appear on the ballot for the January 7, 2027 presidential, the second time he would be chasing the nation’s number one job.
That hurdle is also set to be cleared in no time, all things being equal, given the speed with which the party is taking to ensure that all the loose ends are tied in order to meet the deadline of the Independent National Electoral Commission for all parties to conclude their selection processes for all the candidates for next years general elections.
Against the backdrop of initial date of May 29 scheduled for the presidential primaries, Sam Egwu, Chairman of the screening committee for the presidential election, said on Tuesday night that the exercise would take place on a date to be announced.
He spoke on a day he handed Obi, the only candidate that bought form for the high office a clean bill of health to contest the election after a two-hour drill at the party secretariat in Abuja, on Tuesday night.
Egwu former Governor of Ebonyi State announced Obi’s clearance as the party’s sole presidential aspirant ahead of its forthcoming primaries, about two hours after the arrival of the former Governor of Anambra State, who would be running for the presidential office for a second time after the bid in 2023, where he was declared to have come third by the INEC, in a heavily-disputed outcome, in which his supporters claimed he clearly won.
Obi had arrived at the party secretariat at about 6:45pm on Tuesday, accompanied by Victor Umeh, senator representing Anambra central and immediately went into business, where he was drilled on his qualifications and intentions and other nuances of governance.
Egwu, who announced that the panel was satisfied with his performance, as he answered all questions correctly, told reporters who besieged the venue: “This is to certify that following the screening of the presidential aspirant of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), His Excellency Peter Obi, and being satisfied that he has complied with all the requirements of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and all provisions of the Electoral Act, and the satisfactory answers given by him to all the questions from members of the national screening committee.
“He is hereby cleared to contest in the presidential primaries of the party for the 2027 presidential election on a date to be announced by the party. Congratulations.”
He then presented an official clearance letter to Obi with the party’s official nomination form numbered 001.
Obi picked NDC presidential nomination and expression of interest forms on Sunday, May 17, the initial deadline set by the party for the collection of forms by all categories of aspirants.
On Monday, the party extended the deadline to May 24 to enable more aspirants pick forms, noting that the return of completed nomination forms for all screened and cleared aspirants would commence on Wednesday, May 20 and close on May 26.
However, the party did not extend the deadline for the collection of presidential nomination forms, noting that it had already closed.
By Hon Eseme Eyiboh
Let us begin with a confession. There is something unsettling about a politician who no longer appears to struggle.
In the turbulent theatre of Nigerian politics, where noise is often mistaken for relevance, where primaries resemble wrestling contests and delegate management demands the instincts of a hostage negotiator, a man who walks in unopposed does not merely win. He transforms the entire contest into a rehearsal.
On Monday, May 18, 2026, at Methodist Primary School, Ukana, in Essien Udim Local Government Area, Senator Godswill Akpabio did exactly that. No contest. No drama. No nervous counting of votes. He simply emerged as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District without a single challenger.
While many politicians remain trapped in the exhausting rituals of horse trading, factional bargaining, and survival politics, Akpabio’s good works delivered something far rarer in Nigeria’s political environment than gold itself. Absolute consensus.
To the casual observer, an unopposed return may suggest the absence of competition. That would be a dangerously shallow interpretation.
Those familiar with the political phenomenon long associated with the “Uncommon Transformer” understand the distinction clearly. An unopposed ticket does not mean nobody desired to contest. Politics naturally attracts ambition the way light attracts insects. Power always generates interest. Influence always provokes aspiration.
What an unopposed return truly means is far more significant: potential challengers surveyed the landscape, studied the numbers, weighed the networks, measured the emotional connection between the man and the political structure around him, and quietly concluded that the road to victory simply did not exist.
There is a profound difference between lack of opposition and the collapse of viable opposition
Why is there no road to victory for others? Because what Akpabio has built in Akwa Ibom State in general and Akwa Ibom North West in particular is no longer merely a political structure. It is a fortress. Its walls are not made of concrete. They are made of cultivated loyalty. Enduring networks. Strategic generosity. And the unspoken understanding that confronting him politically is not simply difficult. It is often futile and absurd.
The atmosphere at the ward centre resembled less a political exercise and more a carnival of affirmation. Supporters, community leaders, women groups, youths, and party faithful gathered not to determine an outcome but to endorse a grace carrier already settled in the public imagination. The votes were counted without end. The votes were celebrated.
Here is the remarkable part.
The whispers surrounding Akpabio’s dominance do not come only from admirers. They come from seeming opponents too.
They do not fear his voice. They fear his results. They do not tremble at confrontation. They confront something more sobering: the recognition that within his political territory, the arithmetic has been solved with almost clinical precision.
While others are still assembling coalitions, Akpabio consolidated his long ago. While rivals continue calculating delegate figures, he has already moved to the next question: what happens after victory? How does political power translate into enduring relevance and measurable impact?
That is the distinction between a career politician and a political architect. One chases office. The other shapes the terrain on which the chase itself occurs.
Since assuming office as President of the 10th Senate, Akpabio has projected a measure of stability within the Red Chamber. That should not be understated.
The Nigerian Senate has earned a reputation for turbulence over the years. Leadership rebellions. Internal fractures. Floor dramas that generate headlines while weakening governance and social democratic structures. Against that backdrop, a Senate President capable of maintaining institutional stability without recurring crises becomes more than merely effective. He becomes uncommon.
His admirers see in him a politician who has consistently combined institutional authority with emotional loyalty from his base through the National to International arena. From Governor to Minister to Senate President, his rise is framed as the journey of a man who understood tomorrow before others arrived there. A politician deeply conscious of timing, alignment, and the delicate craft of converting social capital into durable influence and uncommon power (political capital).
This point matters enormously. Political capital is easy to squander. This point matters enormously. Political goodwill is easy to destroy. Many politicians exhaust it through arrogance, exclusion, or the endless pursuit of personal advantage. But Akpabio appears to understand something deeper about leadership: goodwill grows when people genuinely feel seen, valued, included, and carried along.
Over the years, he has cultivated relationships not merely through politics, but through accessibility, generosity of spirit, loyalty to associates, and an unusual ability to make people feel remembered even in the midst of high office. That is why his support structure often appears less like a coalition held together by convenience and more like a community bound by shared experience and enduring personal connection.
What some interpret merely as political dominance may actually be the long-term harvest of sustained human investment.
And perhaps that explains the ease with which the field gradually cleared around him. Not because opposition was forcibly silenced, but because many within the political environment saw little wisdom in disrupting a consensus built around continuity, stability, experience, and an existing relationship of trust.
His commitment to continue working closely with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Umo Eno reinforces a broader message of continuity and strategic alignment. At a time when fragmentation remains the temptation of many ambitious actors, Senator Akpabio has chosen coordination. That is not a weakness. It is political arithmetic.
And this is where the conversation shifts from the present to the near future. The same political capital that secured his senatorial return without resistance is not a one-use currency. It accumulates. It compounds. The goodwill he has cultivated, the equilibrium he has maintained, and the pragmatic preference for results over rhetoric are not merely tools for another Senate term. They form the foundation of something larger and forthcoming.
The crystal ball is not required to observe the trajectory. A Senate President who secures his own return effortlessly, stabilises a chamber historically associated with instability, aligns himself with the centre of national power grid while maintaining grassroots legitimacy, is a Senate President who has solved one of Nigerian politics’ most difficult equations.
He has demonstrated to his colleagues that he can deliver. He has shown the party hierarchy that he can be trusted. He has reassured constituents that proximity to power has not disconnected him from them.
This combination is rarer than any single attribute standing alone. So when the 11th Senate eventually convenes and the question of leadership emerges once again, the conversation may prove shorter than many anticipate. Not because there will be no interested contenders. There always are. But because the arithmetic of loyalty, institutional experience, strategic alignment, and demonstrated political capacity will already have completed its quiet work.
Akpabio has not formally declared interest in leading the 11th Senate. He does not need to. The declaration already exists in the pattern of his movements, the stability of his stewardship, and the political field he has cleared without visible strain. It is simply the discipline of reading political signs as they present themselves* .
In the end, Nigerian politics rewards those who understand the people more deeply than those who merely master performance and noise.That is not sentimentality. It is a political reality.
A politician capable of delivering his constituency without violence, panic, or emergency intervention is a politician who understands something fundamental: power is never truly declared. It is demonstrated. And it is demonstrated most convincingly when nobody steps forward to challenge it.
On that Monday in Ukana, the drums rolled. Praises echoed across the gathering. And the political message arrived without ambiguity. In Akwa Ibom North West, the conversation has moved beyond opposition. What remains is an audience waiting to see the next chapter unfold without ceasing.
Senator Godswill Akpabio has once again reminded observers that in certain political spaces, dominance is not always loud.
Sometimes, it is simply complete. And in the intricate chessboard of Nigerian politics, where many players are still learning how the pieces move, that level of mastery remains rare, consequential, and deeply potent.
The man who saw tomorrow understood something else too. The loudest voice in the room is rarely the one that prevails.
The one that prevails is the one that no longer needs to shout because everybody already understands. And that is what Senator Godswill Akpabio has demonstrated that he is the man who saw tomorrow.
Rt Hon Eseme Eyiboh mnipr is a former member and Spokesperson of the House of Representatives and currently Special Adviser, Media/Publicity and official Spokesperson to the President of the Senate
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