Pat Akpabio, who is the sister-in-law of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has stirred up old issues about the unsolved killings that happened in Akwa Ibom State while Mr. Akpabio was the governor.
According to premium Times, 15th of October 2025, in a Facebook video posted on October 11, Pat expressed her anger, saying, “For all the people you have killed during your time as governor and those you continue to kill now that you are in the Senate, it will never be well with you,” directed at Mr. Akpabio.
Pat, who is both a pastor and a businesswoman, is married to Mr. Akpabio’s brother, Ibanga. Ibanga is known for bringing Mr. Akpabio from Lagos to Uyo around 1999 and for suggesting him for a role as commissioner in then-Governor Victor Attah’s cabinet. This opportunity helped Mr. Akpabio grow in politics, leading to him becoming the third civilian governor of Akwa Ibom in 2007 under the PDP party.
Back then, many in Akwa Ibom thought that Ibanga was the one behind Mr. Akpabio’s rapid advancement in politics.
When Mr. Akpabio became governor, he helped Ibanga get elected as the PDP secretary in the wealthy state. Several of Mr. Akpabio’s family members, including Ibanga, gained power and influence in the state. They were often referred to as the Ukana Ikot Ntuen Cabal, named after Mr. Akpabio’s hometown in the Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Many of them also suddenly became very rich.
However, the strong political influence of the Akpabio family began to decline after Mr. Akpabio finished his second term as governor in 2015.
Tensions within the family became visible in 2023 when Ibanga openly supported Emmanuel Enoidem, who was running against Mr. Akpabio in that year’s senatorial election for the Akwa Ibom North-West District. Mr. Akpabio won the election and later became the Senate president. Another family member, Emem Akpabio, who used to work at Shell and is known as “the Godfather,” led the 2023 governorship campaign for Bassey Albert, the Young Progressives Party (YPP) candidate.
Before this, Mr. Akpabio had lost his re-election bid for the Senate in 2019, when he ran under the APC party and was defeated by Chris Ekpenyong, the PDP candidate and a former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom.
Recently, several people close to Akpabio’s family told PREMIUM TIMES that the family is now completely broken apart. They believe that self-interest, along with a desire for money and power, is the reason for the family conflict.
Pat’s video on Facebook is the latest in her ongoing criticisms of the Senate president. In it, she depicts Mr. Akpabio as untrustworthy and promises to run against him in the 2027 senatorial election.
She accused Mr. Akpabio of betraying many politicians from Akwa Ibom, including Umana Okon Umana, who was a former minister of Niger Delta Affairs; Nsima Ekere and Akan Udofia, both of whom were former APC candidates for governor in Akwa Ibom; and Mr. Albert, the former YPP candidate for governor in the state.
“When you finish, go home. This is your quit notice. Go home and rest; you need to take care of yourself.
“Nigerians don’t know who you are. When they do, they’ll know you are a very wicked man,” she said, advising President Bola Tinubu to be wary of Mr Akpabio. See, More, Here>>>
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