Senate President Godswill Akpabio has blamed opposition figures, who are jealous of the achievements of President Bola Tinubu, for the rising insecurity in Nigeria.
Speaking on Tuesday during the inauguration of the new headquarters of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), where he praised Tinubu’s leadership and ongoing reforms, Akpabio said opposition figures were sponsoring bombings to distract Tinubu from governance.
He added that the opposition figures are promoting insecurity and trying to discredit the government because elections are fast approaching.
According to the Senate President, recent security incidents were politically motivated and designed to create fear and discredit the government.
“You are seeing insecurity today. It is even increasing because election is coming.
“As soon as election is over, watch out. In the first two weeks, you will not hear any single bomb blast because people are sponsoring it to distract you. They don’t know what else to do,” he said.
The Senate President insisted that President Tinubu’s performance in office had made it difficult for the opposition to mount a strong challenge, leading some actors to resort to desperate tactics.
According to him, the politicians are attracted to and joining the All Progressives Congress (APC) in large numbers due to the good performance of President Tinubu.
“They said this man is too good in many areas. If governors are attracted to him, it is because he is taking very good care of the states.
“He came in with less than 18 governors. Today he has almost 32 governors under his fold out of 36,” Akpabio said.
He further took a swipe at opposition parties in the country, mocking them for being unable to put their houses in order.
“Today, no opposition political party is stable in this country. They have not been able to put their houses in order,” he said.
Tinubu’s Reforms
The Senate President further defended Tinubu’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of petrol subsidy, saying the decision had saved Nigeria from fiscal collapse.
He argued that the removal of fuel subsidy has freed up revenue for developmental works.
“From day one, you said fuel subsidy is gone. I asked myself, does this man know what he is talking about?”
“But today, we can see that entrenched corruption was feeding on subsidy. Nigeria was spending almost 90 per cent to 93 per cent of revenue on subsidy and debt servicing.
“There was no money for infrastructure. You cannot build something on nothing and expect it to stand,” Akpabio added.
Akpabio praised the President for what he described as a visible transformation in the Federal Capital Territory, citing ongoing road projects and rehabilitation of previously abandoned infrastructure.
“As a resident of the FCT, I have been here for many years. I have witnessed the Federal Capital Territory change under your administration.
“There were roads and bridges abandoned for years. Some of us did not even know they existed until work resumed on them,” he said.
He also praised him for the appointment of Nyesom Wike as the FCT Minister, saying its a sign of inclusiveness.
“You did not bring somebody only from APC. You brought somebody from another party so nobody will say you are not carrying the country along,” he said.