Opinion: A second Look at Akpabio's 10th Senate

Opinion: A second Look at Akpabio's 10th Senate

By Abubakar Tafida

It is unmistakable  that since his emergence as the President of Nigeria's 10th Senate Dr. Godswill Akpabio has demonstrated his ability  to accommodate dissenting views and upholding freedom of expression in the upper legislative chamber.

For those who understand his political trajectory and appreciate the nexus between the past and present, Akpabio has built bridges across the geopolitical divide and this made him the eventual choice for a Senate President. To give teeth to his ability to deliver on his new national assignment, Akpabio balanced his scales by offering strategic principal offices to reflect national diversity, in tune with the Nigerian constitution.

One unforgettable achievement of Akpabio as Senate President was his  ability to protect and promote the oath of secrecy by keeping the list of incoming ministers close to his chest. One can comfortably say that the Senate under Akpabio has been able to keep the list of Nigerian ministers a secret. It was such that, until the Senate announced it, no one knew who would be minister, which portfolio they would be given. Oath of secrecy in modern governance has found expression in Senate President Akpabio's era.

Let us take an example. The leadership capacity of Akpabio, was the reason for easy consideration and passage of N500billion fuel subsidy palliative proposal by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This fact is now a consensus, actually.

And what's the secret behind this laudable move? The 10th National Assembly is having a robust legislative synergy and engagement with The Presidency. This is undoubtedly good for Nigeria.

Within just a month after inauguration, 10th Senate under Akpabio’s leadership has demonstrated having its focus set on the stability of the country and cementing robust legislative synergy with the executive arm of government.

Back to the historic Akpabio-led effort. The National Assembly had at the recently granted approval to President Bola Tinubu’s request for N500 billion for fuel subsidy palliative.

Hear what a CSO said: "The President understanding the untold hardship being faced by Nigerians, requested to amend the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act so as to extract N500 billion from the budget to be expended on fuel subsidy palliatives. The federal lawmakers gave the request express approval without any rancour as expected of a parliament as diverse as the 10th. This could only be possible due to the leadership capacity of Senator Akpabio, a man understands the nitty-gritty of public administration and management of human resources. We are optimistic that the next four years under his leadership will witness a unified, productive assembly.”

One issue that seemed to have been largely misunderstood by many Nigerians was the ministerial screening before Senators proceeded on holiday. Some hurriedly heaped blames on Akpabio's Senate for deferring the screening of three ministerial nominees of President Tinubu. There is also a deliberate, concerted effort to turn the truth on its head. This is unfair to the Senate President, who by virtue of his professional training and political exposure should not be seen to undermine a security report from the same executive arm that forwarded the list of the three affected ministers. Secondly, the Senate does not have the power to override a report by the Office of the National Security Adviser - which is actually an indispensable part of the ministerial screening process.

Another issue for which many commentators ( some of them blind to the truth) made noise about was the issue of bow-and-go recently at the Senate. The gusto with which some Akpabio critics were condemning it, was as if it was the first time in history. In all democratic settings, appointees of government with pedigree get spared grilling in order to save time and not rehash familiar questions.

 All previous Senate Presidents had adopted this precedent of respecting the pedigree of some nominees. What ask obvious questions and waste time in a screening process involving over 50 nominees, moreso when the exercise is governed by a timeline. This is neither the first time nor the last, that the Senate would ask nominees to bow and go. So Akpabio should not be crucified for a political culture that predated his emergence as Senate President of the Federal Republic. It is unfair to indulge in criticisms not grounded on facts but personal, partisan sentiments. It would have been more appropriate to dig out procedural offence in Akpabio's handling of the Senate than crying wolf where there is none.

It was also surprising to discerning observers that a matter as simple as "vacation allowance" generated prolonged uproar. Almost every critic of Akpabio and his co-travellers went on rampage on the pages of newspapers, calling Akpabio unprintable names. They all went gaga at the slightest political opportunity. What exactly is wrong with the word "vacation allowance" under a democracy? What is strange about it? Why didn't anyone bother about hardship caused mismanagement in the MDAs but heap blames in a Senate leadership and not even allowing the legislature to settle down first? This is quite subjective and hasty, to say the least.

My candid advice is for people with vested interest in the governance of this country should transfer their anger elsewhere and allow our National Assembly members to discharge their oversight functions without fear or favor or avoidable partisanship. No need for all this distraction at a critical point in our democratic history. Let Akpabio be please. My honest admonition.

 Abubakar is a Kaduna APC member