How Akpabio dealt with Tinubu's major critics in 1year, using Senate

Nigeria's 10th Senate was inaugurated on June 13, 2023. Godswill Akpabio became the Senate President in 2023. The members of the 10th Senate elected him after a closely contested election.

Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, won the election with 64 votes, defeating his closest rival, Abdulaziz Yari, a former governor of Zamfara, who secured 46 votes.

Tinubu's critics Akpabio's senate leadership has tactically fought Photo Credit: @SPNigeria, @officialABAT
Source: Twitter

Many did not see his election as Senate President as a surprise, as he was the favoured candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He was able to secure the support of many senators, including those from the opposition parties, to emerge victorious.

In his one year in office, Akpabio has dealt with major critics of President Bola Tinubu, including influential long-standing senators and a former governor.

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

The action of the Akpabio-led senate on these influential politicians could have implications for the future political moves of the victims. They are listed below:

Nasir El-Rufai

Though President Tinubu nominated the former Kaduna state governor as his minister, the Akpabio-led government rejected El-Rufai's nomination, citing a security report by the Department of State Service (DSS).

The DSS cited several reasons for the rejection, including allegations of human rights abuses, unguarded public utterances, and a large number of petitions against him.

Many Nigerians were surprised by El-Rufai's withheld confirmation. They saw him as a top contender for a ministerial position due to his close relationship with President Tinubu.

When did El-Rufai criticise Tinubu?

In 2019, El-Rufai was in Lagos for a seminal and boasted about how he retired four godfathers in Kaduna, then urged Lagos to also retire their godfathers.

The former governor of Kaduna state attended the 60th birthday webinar of his counterpart in Osun state, Rauf Aregbesola. He tactically spoke against Tinubu's godfatherism when he said:

“I want to congratulate my brother, Ogbeni (Aregbesola), on his birthday. You know I’m your man any day. I’m not Asiwaju’s man, and you are Asiwaju’s man, but I am your man any day. Asiwaju and I have differences, but you and I have no differences.”

See the video of the seminar here:

El-Rufai raises alarm on return of fuel subsidy

El-Rufai was also the first politician in Nigeria to raise the alarm that President Tinubu's administration has returned to fuel subsidy payments, although, according to him, many Nigerians are unaware of this development.

The former governor added that the government is now paying a higher amount to subsidize fuel after measures to reduce the subsidy's impact proved ineffective, leading to a reversal of the policy. He made this disclosure while responding to journalists' questions in Maiduguri, Borno state, on April 15.

Does Tinubu forget?

Thus, as noted by Demola Olanrewaju, an ex-media aide to former President Atiku Abubakar, in a tweet on Friday, June 7, said the president will neither forgive nor forget people like El-Rufai and Wike for their statements.

His tweet reads in part:

See the tweet here:

Source: Legit.ng