Why You Should Not Choose Successors Just Because They Kneel For You - Akpabio Tells Governors

Akpabio said governors who settle for successors simply because they kneel before them might be setting themselves up for betrayal when they finally leave office.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has urged second-term governors to exercise caution and wisdom when choosing their successors.

Akpabio said governors who settle for successors simply because they kneel before them might be setting themselves up for betrayal when they finally leave office.

He gave this advice on Saturday at the commissioning of the first 30 kilometres of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in the Lekki area of Lagos.

The Senate President emphasized the place of vision in leadership, urging second-term governors, particularly those in the All Progressives Congress, APC, to prioritise visionary leadership over patronising loyalty."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.

"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, 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," Akpabio said.

Present at the event were President Bola Tinubu, Works Minister Dave Umahi, as well as second-term governors including Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), and Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos).