Rising-Up for a United Nigeria (RUN), a frontline civil society organisation that monitors government policies and programmes has called on Nigerians to disregard a video clip circulating on the social media in which the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio is said to have told Nigerians to avail themselves anywhere they see free food.
In a press release signed and made available to journalists in Abuja, the rights group maintained that Senator Godswill Akpabio was maliciously and deliberately quoted out of context by those opposed to his pro-masses policies and the synergy he has developed between the legislature and the executive.
“It is entirely false and misleading to insinuate that the Senate President is mocking Nigerians by asking them to avail themselves anywhere there is free food. For the records, the said video was made in the first week of the inauguration of the Senate and the announcement or invitation was not meant for Nigerians.
“Senator Goodwill Akpabio was inviting his colleagues to a dinner organised by Senator Dandutse Mohammed for the Senate President and Deputy Senate President. Since the dinner was the private initiative of the Senator, Akpabio’s remarks were meant as a joke to his colleagues.
“To have recycled the video and claim it was what the Senate President said on Friday is not just callous but a deliberate attempt to malign a man who has always stood with the masses especially the youth and vulnerable Nigerians. Senator Godswill Akpabio did not and cannot mock Nigerians when he is in fact, working tirelessly to better their lives through quality legislation”, the release stated.
The CSO noted that the Senate President who outperformed his rivals during his stint as the Governor of Akwa Ibom State together with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu are working tirelessly to turn around Nigeria’s fortunes with various initiatives and programmes which will soon place Nigeria on the global advanced economies.
“There is no doubt that the Senate President is concerned with the welfare of Nigerians. The harmonious relationship between the legislature and the executive has yielded a lot of positive fruits that must not be neglected. For instance, one of the areas the Senate plans to give full support regarding the National Youth Confab, which will soon be convocated, in the area of accelerated food production, increased investment in agriculture and job creation through industrialization.
“There will also be a Special Youth Envoy for the Office of the Senate President who will be a laison between the youth and the federal government ahead of the forthcoming Confab towards identifying areas of comparative advantage and potentials for effective allocation of resources for national development. To say the Senate President is insensitive to the plight of Nigerians is deceitful”, the release added.
The rights group ended by passing a vote of confidence on the Senate President and called on Nigerians to “discontenance those who are trying to derail the wheels of good governance and particularly the Renewed Hope Agenda to which the Senate President is totally committed to its actualization”.