Nigeria’s diplomatic reach: How Akpabio’s parliamentary influence is shaping the global conversation

By Ken Harries
Nigeria’s President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, was at his parliamentary diplomacy best at the 153rd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Arusha, Tanzania, on Friday, 9 October 2026.
He reached deep into his parliamentary toolkit to muster support for Mr Milton Dick, Speaker of Australia’s House of Representatives, who emerged as the organisation’s 32nd President, securing 56 per cent of the votes in a three-candidate contest. He succeeds Dr Tulia Ackson of Tanzania, whose three-year tenure concluded with the Assembly.
The event offers a timely opportunity to examine the place of Nigerian parliamentary diplomacy in global affairs. The significance ...