Akpabio Ties Nigeria Insecurity to 2027 Election Politics

ABUJA, Nigeria – Senate President Godswill Akpabio attributed a recent surge in insecurity and a U.S. travel advisory for Nigeria to political motivations ahead of the 2027 elections during speeches at the inauguration of the Nigeria Revenue Service headquarters on Tuesday, while President Bola Tinubu joked about deploying Akpabio to disrupt opposition parties.

The event marked the official commissioning of the new 16-floor complex in Abuja, designed to house up to 3,000 personnel and symbolizing reforms in tax administration. Tinubu signed the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Act in June 2025, transforming the former Federal Inland Revenue Service into the NRS. Akpabio praised NRS Executive Chairman Zacch Adedeji, calling him "the first taxman that Nigerians love," and highlighted the agency's role in revenue collection despite historical public resistance to taxation.

Akpabio dismissed suggestions that the U.S. Department of State's April 8 advisory – authorizing the voluntary departure of nonemergency embassy personnel and their families from Abuja – stemmed from Nigerian domestic issues. The advisory cited rising crime, terrorism, kidnapping, civil unrest, and...