The All Progressives Congress (APC) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to popular social media influencer, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, demanding an apology over what it described as disparaging comments against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The controversy stems from a viral video where VeryDarkMan criticised Akpabio for travelling to Rome amidst rising insecurity in Nigeria. He argued that, rather than attending international engagements, the Senate President should have been visiting grieving communities in Benue, Plateau, Kwara, Ogun, Enugu, and other states affected by violent attacks.

VeryDarkMan questioned Akpabio’s moral standing to attend the Pope’s funeral when, according to him, the country was in mourning due to widespread killings.

In a swift response, the South-South Zonal chapter of the APC, through its Zonal Organizing Secretary, Blessing Agbomhere, condemned the influencer’s remarks in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja. The party described VeryDarkMan as becoming “notorious for blackmail, slander, and character assassination under the guise of activism.”

The statement defended Akpabio’s trip, clarifying that the Senate President was officially nominated by President Bola Tinubu to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the Vatican and did not act of his own volition. The APC also highlighted President Tinubu’s commitment to tackling insecurity, noting that he recently gave marching orders to security chiefs to adopt a new approach in combating violence across the country.

“The complex security problems in the country cannot be wished away with a wave of the hand,” the South-South APC said.

Earlier reports confirmed that Senate President Akpabio was part of a high-level delegation sent to the Vatican to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, who died on April 21, 2025, at the age of 88. The delegation also included Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu; President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji; Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah; and Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, Ignatius Ayua Kaigama.

According to Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the delegation was tasked with delivering a letter of condolence from President Tinubu to the Acting Head of the Vatican.

President Tinubu, in his tribute, described Pope Francis as \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"a humble servant of God, a tireless champion of the poor, and a guiding light for millions,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" noting that the Pope\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s passing shortly after Easter “symbolises a sacred return to his Maker, offering renewed hope to Christians worldwide.”

As tensions rise, it remains to be seen whether VeryDarkMan will heed the APC’s call and issue a public apology within the stipulated time frame