Stress, malaria happened to me after birthday colloquium — Akpabio

Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, has explained what happened to him after yesterday’s birthday colloquium as a combination of stress and malaria, noting that he is human.

Akpabio spoke with journalists on Friday in Abuja, and explained that he went home, called his doctors. He said they assured him that he had malaria, mingled with stress. This, he added, could also be described in another way as exhaustion.

Akpabio said: “What eventually happened after the event was a show of humanity.

“I went home and I called my doctors and I was assured that I have malaria, mingled with stress. This could also be described in another way as exhaustion.

“In fact, anybody could be exhausted. Please, drink water daily so that you don’t get exhausted.”

Akpabio also noted that he was unperturbed by the incident as the National Assembly is ever ready and willing to forge ahead with its duties.

According to him, “This is to say that the work goes on. I want to assure Nigerians that the National Assembly is intact and we are still going on with our duty, our appropriation.

“We will resume on 20th December. But before then, the various committees must have finished their works to enable us to meet the target to pass the budget before the end of the year for the President to append his signature.”

A colloquium was held yesterday, in celebration of Akpabio’s 61st birthday, in Abuja.

However, reports came that he slumped while seeing off President Bola Tinubu and was rushed to the hospital.

But, reacting to the rumour, his aide said it was all lies.

According to Eseme Eyiboh, Akpabio’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, he only expressed fatigue to those around him.

Eyiboh said: “Besides saying he was exhausted in the hearing of those around him, he was certainly not rushed in a stretcher to the National Hospital or indisposed.”