Following his 61st birthday colloquium in Abuja on Thursday, Senate President Godswill Akpabio collapsed.
The incident occurred after the event, as he slumped while seated at the Transcorp Hilton hotel, where the colloquium had taken place.
The celebration marked the second part of Akpabio’s elaborate 61st birthday festivities.
The initial celebrations began on Saturday, December 9th, at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom.
The event attracted a large crowd, as seen in a viral video showcasing the stadium filled to its over 30,000-person capacity.
In the video, Akpabio was energetically running and displaying his physical fitness, acknowledging the enthusiastic crowd that sang his praises.
During the colloquium on Thursday, Akpabio exhibited agility and spoke coherently, while he also observed sharing moments of laughter and conversation with Bola Tinubu, who graced the occasion.
A source said, “The Senate President must have been tired. He was seated after the colloquium and the next thing was that he had slumped.
“It was when people saw that he had slumped that he was rushed for medical attention.”
According to Punch, another source also emphasized it, saying, “After the Senate President escorted the President alongside some other senators, he came back and sat down when he slumped. He was resuscitated and then rushed to a private hospital not too far from Transcorp. He is still in the hospital.”
But when the Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, was reached, he denied the occurrence.
He said, “Nothing of such happened. Everybody saw him today, he was hale and hearty. I sat behind them today and was even part of the team that saw the President off.
“The Senate President didn’t collapse. How can people make that kind of claim without video clips? Is it possible to witness such a thing and not make a video?”
Likewise, Jackson Udom, a media aide to the Senate President, emphatically stated that there was no occurrence of such an event, and his principal was never transported out of Transcorp at any point in time.
He said, “The report is not true. The Senate President didn’t collapse, nor was he wheeled out. Let the people sharing the story provide a picture of such happenings.”