The spokesperson of the Senate, Yemi Adaramodu, on Thursday, said there was no truth in the reports that the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, collapsed at an event held in Abuja earlier in the day to mark his 61st birthday.
There were reports earlier in the day that Akpabio collapsed after seeing President Bola Tinubu who graced the colloquium organised as part of activities marking the Senate President’s birthday.
But when our correspondent contacted Adaramodu, 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?”
Similarly, one of the Senate President’s media aides, Jackson Udom, said nothing of such happened, and at no time was his principal wheeled out of the venue of the colloquium.
He said, “The report is not true. The Senate President didn’t collapse neither was he wheeled out. Let the people sharing the story provide a picture of such happenings.”
Meanwhile, sources told PUNCH that Akpabio slumped while seated on a chair at the hotel where the event was held earlier.
They said he did not collapse while walking but slumped while seated.
A source who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “The Senate President must have been tired. He was seated after the colloquium and the next thing was that he slumped.
“It was when people saw that he had slumped that he was rushed for medical attention.”
Another source also buttressed 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.”