Won · party primary
THE PERSON
Party recorded for this electionPeoples Democratic PartyPDPEach line shows where it comes from. A listed contact is not proof it is answered or current.
Richard Erepamo Akinaka (INEC: Akinaka Erepamo Richard) is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Bayelsa Central Senatorial District in the Senate election of 16 January 2027 (INEC final list, 12 September 2026). INEC lists him as a 43-year-old man whose declared qualifications are the First School Leaving Certificate and the Senior School Certificate (SSCE). He is a businessman in the marine and oil-and-gas…
Richard Erepamo Akinaka (INEC: Akinaka Erepamo Richard) is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Bayelsa Central Senatorial District in the Senate election of 16 January 2027 (INEC final list, 12 September 2026). INEC lists him as a 43-year-old man whose declared qualifications are the First School Leaving Certificate and the Senior School Certificate (SSCE). He is a businessman in the marine and oil-and-gas services sector: news reports describe a Richard Akinaka, a Bayelsa native, as founder and chief executive of Abitto Global Services Limited, an oil and gas service provider whose gunboats for Rivers State were commissioned in March 2022, and in June 2024 as managing director of Abitto Ferry Services. On 8 April 2026 he re-joined the PDP at the party's membership revalidation exercise in Yenagoa, receiving his card from state chairman George Turnah; reports called him a returnee without saying when he had left. He declared for the Bayelsa Central seat at a party gathering on 5 May 2026, submitted his expression-of-interest and nomination forms at the PDP secretariat in Yenagoa on 9 May, and passed party screening (reported 14 May). As the sole aspirant he was declared the PDP candidate by returning officer Bidi Weris at the Bayelsa Central collation centre in Yenagoa on 20 May 2026 (one report says 21 May). In June 2026 he campaigned on a constituency trust fund and support for fishing communities and was endorsed by PANDEF chairman Godknows Igali.
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Re-joined the PDP at the party's membership revalidation exercise in Yenagoa, receiving his card from state chairman George Turnah (Punch: 'on Wednesday', i.e. 8 April 2026); reports call him a returnee but when he first joined or left the PDP was not found. PDP candidate for Bayelsa Central on INEC's final list (12 September 2026).
Current affiliation in the reviewed membership record.
Peoples Democratic Party · Bayelsa Central · Bayelsa
constituency: Bayelsa Central Senatorial District · also listed as: Akinaka Erepamo Richard · INEC final list of candidates (Senate), published 2026-09-12 — SN 26, p.22; INEC name: AKINAKA EREPAMO RICHARD; age 43; male; qualification (as declared to INEC): FIRST SCHOOL LEAVING CERTIFICATE SSCE CERTIFICATE · Primary: sole PDP aspirant after passing party screening (reported 14…
constituency: Bayelsa Central Senatorial District · also listed as: Akinaka Erepamo Richard · INEC final list of candidates (Senate), published 2026-09-12 — SN 26, p.22; INEC name: AKINAKA EREPAMO RICHARD; age 43; male; qualification (as declared to INEC): FIRST SCHOOL LEAVING CERTIFICATE SSCE CERTIFICATE · Primary: sole PDP aspirant after passing party screening (reported 14 May 2026); declared candidate by returning officer Bidi Weris (PDP vice chairman, Bayelsa Central) at the collation centre, St. Peter's Primary School, Yenagoa, after ward primaries - on Wednesday 20 May 2026 (The Sun; Vanguard's report was online before dawn on 21 May; Punch's 'Thursday' is its publication day); no vote count published
Declared to INEC (2027 final list): First School Leaving Certificate and Senior School Certificate (SSCE); institutions and years not published.
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Abitto Global Services Limited
Founder and managing director/CEO of Abitto Global Services Limited, described as an oil and gas service provider; its gunboats for Rivers State were commissioned by Governor Nyesom Wike in March 2022. In June 2024 he was reported as managing director of Abitto Ferry Services, which was launching a ferry service between Akwa Ibom and Cross River. Founding year not found.…
Founder and managing director/CEO of Abitto Global Services Limited, described as an oil and gas service provider; its gunboats for Rivers State were commissioned by Governor Nyesom Wike in March 2022. In June 2024 he was reported as managing director of Abitto Ferry Services, which was launching a ferry service between Akwa Ibom and Cross River. Founding year not found. Identity: matched to the candidate through The Guardian's own candidacy coverage (which links his name to its Abitto report) and PANDEF chairman Godknows Igali's June 2026 description of him as a businessman in the marine, oil and gas sector.
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