Senate President Godswill Akpabio says the National Assembly is “solidly behind” President Bola Tinubu as he seeks re-election in 2027.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday at the inauguration of the
All Progressives Congress (APC) 2027 presidential campaign council, Akpabio
said nobody could “break through” the legislature “to destabilise” Tinubu.
“Mr President, it’s because of your personae, because you’ve
done well and you deserve a second term in office,” he said.
He added that Nigerians were beginning to recognise the
administration’s reforms and that the national assembly would not allow anyone
to undermine the president.
“What is happening tonight is the fact that Nigerians are
seeing your reforms, and Nigerians have also seen the fact that nobody can
break through the national assembly to destabilise you. We are solidly behind
you,” he said.
The senate president also said many lawmakers had expressed
interest in joining the campaign council’s activities.
“In fact, when I was coming, a lot of senators were dragging
my clothes and said, ‘SP, are you leaving us behind? Let us just come with
you,’” he said.
Akpabio said he had told the lawmakers he would seek
Tinubu’s permission before bringing them to a future gathering.
“Your Excellency, I want your permission to come next time
with the minority leader and those in the minorities in the national assembly,”
he said.
He specifically mentioned Abba Moro, the senate minority
leader, as one of the lawmakers willing to join the gathering.
Akpabio described the composition of Tinubu’s campaign
council as unprecedented in Nigeria’s democratic history, saying it brought
together politicians from different political parties.
“This is historic, and this is uncommon. This has never
happened in the history of our democracy since 1999, that the sitting president
will constitute his presidential campaign council with almost all the parties
in Nigeria, inclusive,” he said.
He described the arrangement as evidence of unity and
cooperation across political divides, adding that the president’s second term
would be a “unity government”.
Akpabio congratulated Tinubu and Nentawe Yilwatda, APC
national chairman, as well as political figures from other parties included in
the campaign council.
He praised Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) and a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Chukwuma
Soludo, governor of Anambra state and a member of the All Progressives Grand
Alliance (APGA); and Ademola Adeleke, governor of Osun state, who is a member
of the Accord.
Akpabio said their participation showed that good governance
depended on individuals rather than party affiliation.
He particularly commended Soludo for joining the campaign
effort, expressing hope that his experience would contribute to the country’s
development.
The senate president urged Tinubu to take Soludo’s advice
seriously, recounting the governor’s analogy about mending an untorn garment.
“He said, if the clothes is not torn, why try to mend it? If
you try to mend it, you are doing what? You are going to tear the clothes,”
Akpabio said.
He used the analogy to urge Tinubu to encourage members of
the national assembly to support his second-term bid.
Akpabio also cautioned governors against abandoning their
constituents in pursuit of other political offices.
“And for my brothers who are governors, I want you to know
that you must not abandon your people,” he added.
“I did eight years as a governor. And the constitution says
you should do eight years. There’s no need for you to start eyeing another
position that is not available.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com