Abba Moro: Opposition’s Confrontation with Ruling Party Unnecessary

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Minority Leader of the Senate , Senator Abba Moro, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker, representing Benue South, has defended his style of opposition in the 10th Senate, stating that constructive collaboration with those in positions of authority was preferable to needless confrontations.
Moro, who spoke to some journalists over the weekend in his office, said collaborative leadership for good governance was apt and a justification for his style of leadership as a minority leader.

He said: “Minority Leadership to me is not for confrontation but constructive collaboration with those in the ruling party for good governance for Nigerians. I want to sincerely say that you have made some proper observations  in the course of time, because as a person, I believe in collaboration.  

“I believe that compromise is a very veritable instrument in leadership advancement. I believe that what we call opposition is ordinarily intended to persuade people to act in a manner that otherwise they may not necessarily act.

” Yes , I was elected into the Senate on the platform of PDP but as a  senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I need to work with other Nigerians to advance the cause of Nigeria.

“And that is why I think that it is better for me to relate with people amicably, persuasively, to be able to advance the cause of governance instead of unnecessary or avoidable confrontations,” he said .

He added that he reminded one of the senators in the minority camp who wanted him to be combative on the floor of the senate that such combativeness didn’t achieve anything in the 8th and 9th senate, particularly on moves made to impeach the then president .

He said: “I recall that in the ninth senate and the eighth senate, there were motions that were moved, points of order that were raised to identify issues of concern for Nigerians and to the extreme of asking for the impeachment of the president.

“Was the president impeached? The answer is no. And so if you do not think that certain things are possible within the dynamics of governance and legislative activities then you don’t raise it. I’m a realist who believes in doing things that are real and achievable and also  advance the cause of good governance.”

His achievements included establishing democratic institutions and prioritising reconciliation, said Ndumba Kamwanyah, a lecturer at the University of Namibia and a political analyst.