The Senate President of the Federal Republic, Godswill Akpabio, has blamed the dwindling economy of the country on embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Niagara (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, urging Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu as he labours to fix the hole he left in the country’s treasury for the betterment of all.
Akpabio, who described the economy as foamy and was left wobbling by Emefele, maintained that Tinubu inherited a battered economy, and he has been trying to deploy his ingenious know-how to salvage and navigate away from the stranglehold of sleaze and corruption to stay afloat.
The Senate President laid the blame at Ikot Ekpene Stadium at the weekend when his kinsmen from Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District hosted him and his National Assembly colleagues in a grand reception since he became the president of the 10th Senate of the Federal Republic last year.
Expressing optimism and confidence in the economy bouncing back stronger, Akpabio assured that President Tinubu has the magic wand to bring the economy back on the trajectory of growth, as he did as governor, under which Lagos became one of the most buoyant economies in Africa.
He stressed that with three former governors, Tinubu, a former Governor of Lagos State, as President; Kashim Shettima, a former Borno State Governor, as Vice President; and himself, a former Akwa Ibom State Governor, their knowledge and ingenuity in politics and socio-economic governance would be aggregated and galvanised to rescue the country for the greater good of Nigerians.
Akpabio assured the people of the state, the South-South region, and the country of an all-round federal presence, assuring that the coastal road coming all the way from Lagos to Calabar would cut across various states in the Southwest, Southeast, and South-South political zones, with attendant socio-economic developments.
The Senate President also assured the host governor, Pastor Umo Eno, of the Deep Seaport and other federal government projects and urged him to liaise with the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Samuel Ogbuku, to extend the ongoing road project from the neighbouring Abia State to Ini, Ikono, and Ikot Ekpene to connect Uyo, the state capital.
“You have asked of Seaport; you will not only get Seaport; you get roads, flyovers, and other federal projects, and we are going to do this because of you,” he stressed but impressed it on the governor to live above board as a pastor.
Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, also extolled the leadership virtues of Senator Akpabio, noting that as the National Assembly Chairman, he has been a stabilising influence and ‘Unifier-in-Chief’ who is engendering executive-legislative harmony.
Earlier in his speech, the State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, who joined others to welcome Akpabio, thanked President Tinubu for finding an Akwa Ibom son fitting for the exalted position of number three citizen and pledged to work with the centre in spite of political party differences to bring development to the state.
He appealed to the Senate President to use his position as the number three citizen to impress on the Federal Government to help in realising the vision of establishing the Ibom Deep Seaport, a palm oil refinery, and a petroleum products depot in the state.
He explained that the development of the seaport, which has the deepest and longest water stretch in Nigeria, would be an economic catalyst for Nigeria in the Gulf of Guinea.
Governor Eno thanked the senate president and his colleagues for the visit, even as he applauded President Bola Tinubu and the senators “for rallying around our son and making him the president of the 10th Senate,” stressing that “he is our joy, our pride, and a beacon of hope for our people.
“I welcome our distinguished senators, led by our son, the senate president, to Akwa Ibom State. Since the creation of this state and especially since the return of democracy, we have been blessed with very patriotic and dedicated leaders, from the days of Obong Victor Attah to the uncommon era of my grandfather, the senate president, to my political father, the immediate past Governor Udom Emmanuel to date.
“Past governors before me did a lot for the state during their times; all we have to do now is maintain those facilities and also put in place some new infrastructure where necessary.
“As a government, we will continue to partner with you and President Tinubu. Your love and commitment to the unity of our dear state are enough to put the state on a high pedestal of development.
God brought me at this time, by His grace, to bring about the reconciliation of His people. As they say, united we stand, divided we fall. If we must get anything for our state at the federal level and want our state to remain the envy of others, we have no alternative but to work together as a team.”
He, however, appealed to the Senate President not to truncate the governorship succession plan laid down in the state by successive approximations since the return of democracy in 1999 by allowing him to see through his eight years, as was the case of Obong Victor Attah (1999–2007), Chief Godswill Akpabio (2007–2015), and Mr. Udom Emmanuel (2015–2023).
Also speaking, the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, appreciated the cordial relationship between the Senate President and the State Governor, saying it would help hasten the development of the state.
Ogbuku said even though the governor and the Senate President came from different political parties, they had come together in unity to develop the state.
He said, “I thank the people of Akwa Ibom State for teaching other parts of the country a lesson in peace and unity in party politics, devoid of affiliation, as exemplified by Governor Umo Eno, for embracing the leadership and giving support to Senator Akpabio.
“Irrespective of the fact that the governor and the Senate President come from different parties, they have come together in unity to develop the state.”
He thanked the governor for the support he was giving the Senate President and urged him not to be distracted by enemies of progress.
The NDDC MD also applauded the leadership qualities of Akpabio, saying his disposition as a leader had united the National Assembly across party lines
“On behalf of the board and management of the NDDC, I want to appreciate the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, for his leadership qualities, which have helped unite the National Assembly along party lines,” he stressed.
