Senate Presidency and Mounting Agitation for Akpabio’s Removal

Sunday Aborisade examines the mixed feelings of admiration and deep repugnance Nigerians are expressing about the 10th Senate under Godswill Akpabio, the herculean task ahead of him including reported impeachment moves against him.

The emergence of the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio in a keenly contested and tension-soaked election involving him and the Zamfara Central Senator Abdulaziz Yari, would for a long time be a reference point in the nation’s political atmosphere. The poll, involving the participation of just 109 people almost divided Nigeria along ethnic and religious lines.

The alleged heavy use of hard currency and the deployment of state apparatus and federal might, invariably ended the supremacy battle among the two gladiators in favour of the Akwa Ibom Senator.

Akpabio, a two-term governor of Akwa Ibom State, former Senate minority leader and Minister for four years in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, is naturally expected to have galvanised the required experience to lead the Senate based on his antecedents over the years but he was soon to discover that he needed more than that to be the first among the equals.

His first major task was when he presided over the debate on the planned hike of electricity tariff by 40 per cent. The then newly inaugrated senators had a robust debate on the matter and invariably resolved that the federal authorities in charge of the policy should suspend it forthwith.

However, the laudable decision generated a backlash for Akpabio and indeed, the 10th Senate when a video clip of how the decision on an additional prayer requesting that the electricity regulatory institution in the country should allow poor Nigerians to breathe, went viral.

Many Nigerians who reacted to the viral video accused the Akpabio-led red chamber as being insensitive to the plight of the suffering masses simply because the senators were laughing before and after the additional prayer was taken and adopted.

In his reaction to the insults that greeted the action rather than the commendations and encomiums from the people who had been saved from additional pains following the sudden removal of fuel subsidy, Akpabio described it as burden of leadership.

The rejection of the request by President Bola Tinubu to deploy Nigerian troops on military action against Niger Republic, based on reason and emotion was a great milestone achieved by the Akpabio-led Senate, an action that earned him accolades.

Despite the perception of Nigerians that the 10th Senate would be a continuation of the Senator Ahmad Lawan’s absolute rubber stamp era, Akpabio, during the debate on the issue, noted that his Senate was not at loggerheads with the executive

He assured Nigerians that the Senate will not conduct its affairs as a rubber stamp of the executive as its predecessor did, even with matters that hurt the federation.

He made it clear that the Senate does not legislate for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), despite the fact President Tinubu is the current Chairman of the sub-regional body.

The 10th Senate had also intervened in the industrial disputes between unions and the federal government in the last 100 days which had, among others, led to the

 suspension of the Resident Doctors’  strike immediately after their engagement with the Senate leadership.

Similarly, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, after an engagement with the Senate leadership, suspended its proposed joint industrial action meant to protest the inflation caused by the impact of subsidy removal without palliatives to cushion it’s effects.

The Senate delayed the commencement of its annual vacation by about 10 days to enable it to screen the ministerial nominees sent for confirmation by President Tinubu.

The lawmakers sat through odd hours and non-legislative days including Friday, Saturday and Monday.

Despite the ‘bow and go’  courtesies extended to serving and former lawmakers among the nominees, the screening exercise was carried out with diligence and this led to the rejection of three nominees.

Observers said the development asserted the Senate on a strong pedestal of institutional integrity.

Out of the 48 ministerial-nominee President Tinubu sent to the Senate, 45 were successfully screened and confirmed.

The three nominees that were not confirmed are Mallam Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Senator Abubakar Danladi (Taraba) and Stella Okotete (Delta). Akpabio said the affected nominees were still having issues with their security clearance.

However, Akpabio’s parting words to his colleagues after the painstaking screening exercise when he informed them that the National Assembly Management had paid a token to their accounts for their enjoyment during their annual vacation, earned him attacks from within and outside the chambers.

The development came at a period the federal legislators were battling hard to explain their express approval of the $800 million World Bank Loan and the N500 billion Supplementary Budget for President Tinubu which included a N7 billion package for the National Assembly to make working environment conducive for the lawmakers.

But the Special Adviser to the President of the Senate on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Eseme Eyibo, while commenting on Akpabio’s first 100 days, said the Senate President has shown commitment to the cause of good governance while focusing on deliverables that will uplift the quality of life of an average Nigerian.

According to Eyibo, the Senate’s suspension of its vacation to screen ministerial nominees through odd hours and non-legislative days was a show of leadership commitment to the cause of good governance.

He also said Akpabio led the Senate to show sensitivity towards the economic pains that Nigerians are faced with by leading the Senate through the rejection of the proposal for a 40 percent increase in electricity tariff, which would have increased the burden on Nigerians in the face of dwindled resources.

He said: “The diligence in the ministerial nominees screening, which occasioned the decline on the approval of three nominees, asserts the Nigerian Senate on a strong pedestal of institutional integrity.”

As most Nigerians are looking forward to see the roles Akpabio and his team would play in the face of hardship occasioned by the sudden removal of subsidy, when the federal parliament resumes next week, news of moves to sack the uncommon senator filtered into the media space.

The syndicated media report alleged that the last official assignment of Akpabio before the vacation which is the sharing of committees did not go down well with senators who did not support his ambition to become the Senate President.

The story alleged that the aggrieved lawmakers were planning his impeachment and would do so by floating a political party to galvanise support from both senators across the political parties in the 10th Senate.

However, separate statements from the anti-Akpabio senators represented by the Adamawa North Senator, Elisha Abbo and the Spokesperson for the Senate, Adeyemi Adaramodu, dismissed the alleged impeachment plot as a ruse.

Real Reasons some senators are after Akpabio

Fresh details on the agitation against Akpabio have emerged with the revelation that the disaffection on committee appointments was only diversionary.

It was gathered that the real grouse of the group of senators was the suspicion of the incapacity of the Senate President to checkmate what some northern senators are calling the Yorubanisation of the country’s financial system and economy.

They are also, allegedly perceiving that Senator Akpabio’s lack of capacity to checkmate the domination of the Yoruba in the financial ecosystem is also his alleged refusal to deal with some powerful interest groups.

Akpabio is allegedly being accused of supporting Tinubu’s policies which had stopped some petrol importers and the electricity distribution companies from further improverishing poor Nigerians.

They cited the stopping of the 40 per cent  electricity tariff hike and payment of outstanding money to fuel importers.

The senators who have their grouse against Akpabio after his emergence, accused him of  lopsided distribution of Grade A committees mainly in favour of his supporters and to the discrimination of those who opposed him during the leadership contest.

While it was gathered that the allegation may have some substance, it has, however, emerged that some rivals of the Senate President may have regrouped using as a reason his apparent failure to check the lopsided appointments by the president in favour of the Yoruba, especially in the financial sector.

Among the senators who are alleged to have regrouped with a mission of standing up to  Akpabio are some former governors drawn from the North and at least one from the South-South.

The group has now formally come out by presenting Senator Elisha Abbo (APC Adamawa North) as the face of the group.

Senator Abbo in a statement, accused Akpabio of marginalising his rivals in the leadership contest and their supporters in the distribution of the committee positions.

However, sources within the Abbo group have now revealed that the angst of the group was far more and go beyond the Senate President.

“The main issue is our fear that Akpabio cannot check this Yorubanisation of the financial system that is going on now,” a source within the group stated.

The source who spoke strictly on condition of anonymity, alluded to the appointments at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Customs, among others, that have recently been infused with Yoruba leadership.

The control of the agencies is besides the appointment of Yoruba Ministers in the financial sector and the blue economy.

“Yes, the reason why you can see that Northerners are mostly involved is that most of those being removed and replaced with Yoruba are Northerners,” the source further revealed.

It was further gathered that the aim of the senators was to enthrone a Senate President that the group believe could checkmate President Tinubu.

Besides the appointments, the group is also said to be working on behalf of some interest groups in the economy who believe that they were shortchanged after reaching agreements with the president and Akpabio on the payment of subsidy to the petrol importers.

It was gathered that an arrangement had been reached with the presidency that funds generated from the removal of fuel subsidy would be used to settle petrol importers within the first two months of the removal of subsidy.

The fund amounting to N2 trillion has, however, not been so used but rather pushed to palliatives intervention.

Another interest group said to have infiltrated the ranks of the protesting senators were some electricity distribution companies who were said to have also reached an agreement with the presidency and Akpabio for an upward review of 40% of tariff. That agreement was, however, discountenanced on the Senate floor by Akpabio.

Just like those being pushed out in the appointments in the financial sector, some northern business interest groups are believed to be more affected by the decision not to pay the petrol importers.

A prominent member of the Northern Senators Forum, Senator Elisha Abbo, has, however, dismissed the allegation.

He alleged that the pro-Akpabio senators were deliberately planting media reports to pitch them against President Tinubu.

Abbo assured the President that the northern senators are fully in support of his administration.