Sani Tambuwal, Clerk of the National Assembly, declared him the winner of a hotly contested election.
Senator Abdulaziz Yari received 46 votes, while Akpabio received 63.
Here are 20 things you should know about Akpabio:
1. On December 9, 1962, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio CON was born.
2. He is the son of Chief Obot Akpabio of Ukana, Ikot Ntuen in Essien Udim Local Government Area and Madam Lucy Obot Akpabio (née Inyangetor).
3. He was raised by his mother after his father died when he was young.
4. Akpabio attended Methodist Primary School in Ukana, Essien Udim LGA, Akwa Ibom State, the Federal Government College in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and the University of Calabar, Cross River State, where he earned a Bachelor of Laws degree.
5. He was named Senior Prefect at the Federal Government College in Port Harcourt.
6. Akpabio was elected speaker of the parliamentary year at the University of Calabar.
7. Okuku Udo Akpabio, Akpabio’s grandfather, was the Warrant Chief in Ikot Ekpene province.
8. From 2019 to 2022, he was the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
9. He resigned on May 11, 2022, at the request of President Muhammadu Buhari, to run in the All Progressives Congress presidential primaries.
10. From 2007 to 2015, he was the Governor of Akwa Ibom State.
11. Dr. I. U. Akpabio, his uncle, was the Minister of Education/Internal Affairs in then-Eastern Nigeria.
12. His cousin, Justice Nsima Akpabio, was a senator in the Second Nigerian Republic.
13. Akpabio is a devout Catholic Christian.
14. Ekaette Unoma Akpabio, the founder of Family Life Enhancement Initiative (FLEI), is Akpabio’s wife.
15. Akpabio and his wife are the parents of four daughters and one son.
16. Akpabio worked briefly as a teacher and as an associate partner with Paul Usoro and Co., a Nigerian law firm.
17. He also worked for EMIS Telecoms Limited, a Nigerian wireless telecommunications company.
18. In 2002, he was promoted to Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the company.
19. In this role, he was instrumental in shaping the future of the burgeoning telecoms industry.
20. As a director of EMIS, he served as the National Publicity Secretary of the Association of Telecommunication Companies in Nigeria (ATCOM)
21. He defeated Senator Abdulaziz Yari, who scored 46, with 63 votes to emerge Senate President of the 10th National Assembly.
I thank God for granting us Nigerian AKPABIO as senate president,I wish more grease in his elbows.