Last week, the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, threw a subtle jab at the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
We tracked one other story in the National Assembly for your reading pleasure.
1. Akpabio’s jab at PDP
On June 18, Senator Akpabio jokingly encouraged the former Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, and his four other colleagues in the G5 to form a new faction within the PDP in order to make the ruling All Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) victory in the 2027 presidential election easy.
Akpabio stated this while giving a speech during a thanksgiving gathering at Wike’s private property on Ada-George road in Rumueprikom town in the state’s Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.
“We are very delighted; we are proud to have G5. Please, ensure that in 2027, another G5 emerges so that APC will continue to do well in this country. And if you like, you can add two more, make it G7 and not only G5,” the new Senate President said to Wike.
Akpabio’s jabs further unearth the intrigues leading up to the 2023 general elections and show how politics remains an interest-driven game.
Reading Akpabio’s lips, the snide remarks offer a sneak preview of how future electoral wars may be fought using the G-5 template.
On the other hand, it serves as a reminder to the main opposition party that it has a lot of fence-mending to do if it hopes to remain a counterforce, providing credible and reliable check against noticeable bad governance.
All said, it would be interesting to see what PDP makes of Akpabio’s jabs.
NASS MEMORY LANE
Who said;
“Our over-reliance on kinetic measures to deal with insecurity are not working. Although the police have the constitutional power to address the internal security challenges, the army have joined in the fight. I can confirm that the soldiers are now scattered across the states in the country.”
Answer: See end of post
One other story
2. As Ogah denies indirect shot at Obi
On June 20, Hon. Amobi Ogah, representing Abia’s Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency, indirectly asked the national leaders of his party, the Labour Party (LP), to back Tinubu’s administration.
“Once somebody has won an election, to be a good sportsman, you must give the person support….Now it is about governance. And whoever God has given that mandate to represent the people, you must respect that institution,” he said in a media briefing.
READ ALSO:NASS REPUBLIC: On Akpabio, Abbas’ rise to power. Two other stories, and a quote to remember
Days later, Ogah denied ever backing Tinubu against his party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who is challenging the President’s victory in court.
Ogah’s initial stand not only reinforces the claim that politics is a game of interest but lays bare a common trait among Nigerian politicians, which is an uncanny resort to doublespeak when most convenient.
His denial could, therefore, be safely interpreted as not just mere damage control but a revelation of the gaping absence of ideology in Nigeria’s political culture.
Answer: Hon. Abdulrasaq Namdas
Namdas made the statement on August 10, 2022, when he featured on Channels TV programme, Politics Today. He represented Jada/Ganye/Mayobelwa/Tougo Federal Constituency in the 9th National Assembly.
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