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…‘Tinubu’s Reforms’ll Suffer Setback If Akpabio is Not Elected’ 

Oodua People’s Frontier (OPF) and Yoruba Patriots Alliance (YPA) criticised the Tinubu government for alleged interference in the election of principal officers of the National Assembly ahead of today’s inauguration.

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The groups, in a joint statement on Monday, signed by Convener of OPF, Moses Odewale, and National President of YPA, Anuoluwabamise Adetutu, expressed dissatisfaction and concern over the disregard for democratic principles demonstrated by this administration.

The groups stressed that it was disheartening to witness the relentless attempts by the government to utilise security agencies as tools of intimidation, coercing aspiring candidates into submission, adding that such actions are not only undemocratic but also threatened the very foundations of our democracy.

The groups stated, “Nigeria is not an ‘agberocracy’; we are a nation founded on democratic principles, where the separation of powers and the independence of the legislative and judicial arms are paramount.

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“We vehemently repudiate any misguided parallel drawn between Nigeria and the confined realm of Lagos State, where agberos and touts reign supreme. We assert that Nigeria, as a whole, transcends the narrow scope of a single state and operates on an entirely different scale of governance.”

They pointed out that it was shameful that the current government, barely at the outset of its tenure, was already exhibiting dictatorial tendencies.

They noted that considering the use of court orders to impede eligible candidates from exercising their fundamental rights to contest for principal offices in the Senate was not only an affront to the country’s democracy but also a blatant violation of the principles of justice and fairness.

‘Tinubu’s Reforms’ll Suffer Setback If Akpabio is Not Elected’

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The Leadership Council of The Initiative (an agenda setting college of former and serving National Assembly members) said the unprecedented economic reforms announced by President Bola Tinubu might suffer setback if Senator Godswill Akpabio did not emerge President of the Senate today.

Addressing journalists, a former spokesperson for the House of Representatives, Eseme Eyibo, maintained that Akpabio, more than any other candidate, would defend Tinubu’s policies in the 10th National Assembly.

It said, “What is going on in the National Assembly is very democratic. It has given credence to the fact that the current administration is operating on the platform of democracy. When the president called the senators-elect and members-elect of the House of Representatives, it was to simply appeal to all of them and they saw reason with him.

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“All the people aspiring will not be able to stand side-by-side with Akpabio. The reforms in the electricity, petroleum and the fiscal monetary policy will lead to setting up of the legal and legislative framework about its implementation.

“States won’t just apply to generate electricity, there has to be a standard process to which that is done because there will be foreign direct investment in that aspect. There will also be a need to look at the issue of ease of doing business and Nigeria enterprise promotion.”

Nabena: Yari, Others Should Step Down for Akpabio

Ahead of Tuesday’s election of presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of APC, Yekini Nabena, called on Senator Abdulaziz Yari and Senatir Orji Kalu to step down for Senator Godswill Akpabio to emerge the next President of the Senate.

Nabena, in a statement, said this had become necessary following the decision of the two major contenders for the position of Speaker, Hon. Muktar Betara Aliyu, and Yusuf Gagdi, to withdraw and declare their support for Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, endorsed by the party.

He noted that it had become clearer that the north could not have the vice president, Speaker, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), and Senate President at the same time.

Nabena said, “The issue of Muslim-Muslim ticket of the president and the vice president is another genuine factor that should be considered and rally support for the only candidate from the South-south, Senator Godswill Akpabio, as the next Senate President because Nigeria is a secular state.”

He added that there was need for religious balancing in government, saying only South-south will be left out of the equation if the position of Senate President eluded the region.

Arise News