AKPABIO’S 10TH SENATE: DIARY OF A CHIEF LAWBREAKER

Akuku Dominic Ekpo, Obot Akara

When the race for the Senate President of the 10th Senate was on, most people routed for Senator Godswill Akpabio with the hope and expectation that he could come to reenact his much talked about uncommon era as the Governor of Akwa Ibom State.

He was favoured by the zoning of principal officers of the national assembly by his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Very importantly, he was reportedly the preferred for the position by President Bola Tinubu.

At the end of the day, Senator Akpabio emerged the Senate President even if a lot of water passed under the bridge. But four years into Akpabio’s Senate Presidency, can the Senate say they made a wise choice in him?

The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria may have been engaged in controversies in the past, but certainly not the uncommon magnitude recorded under Senator Akpabio in a comparatively very short period.

First, as a specialist in vindictive leadership, Senator Akpabio deliberately sidelined many ranking senators from heading Senate committees as a payback to some of them who never supported his aspiration. Unfolding events have however, vindicated them and their foresighted position.

Senator has killed whatever remained of legislative independence by kowtowing before the President and Executive arm of government for whatever reason.

He has invented strange manner of passing bills in the Senate almost unilaterally, as most of them were yet to be exhaustively deliberated upon by the senators.

The shabby and shadowy way in which the Senate President presided over the screening of ministerial nominees also watered down the rating of the Senate which Akpabio is superintending over.

A height of Akpabio’s adulteration of the revered red chambers of the national assembly was his announcing on live television with impunity that he has shared money to the senators, giving those of them who have shame and little conscience the embarrassment of their life.

But that could never have mattered for a man who has little or no regards to the sensibilities of Nigerians. Otherwise, he could not have said such to the face of Nigerians who were at that time (of course till now) passing through poisonous stings from the fangs of collapsed economy in the country.

At that point, Akpabio’s colleagues knew that they had made a wrong choice in Akpabio. So, what has Senator Akpabio achieved so far?

So far, Senator Akpabio’s tenure has hurriedly altered status quo and made laws to stop neophyte senators from contesting for his position (Senate Presidency) and that of the Deputy Senate President.

The sad irony is that Senator Akpabio has refused to apply such suspicious speed in making laws to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians. If only they meant anything to him! This has given Nigerians a bad impression of the current Senate because whatever good or bad thing they do is attributed to the position of the entire Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

But could that be true? Are there those who differ in Akpabio’s style of left-wing leadership? That does not matter to Senator Akpabio. On a live television too, he had boasted that no matter who takes exception to his positions, he dismisses them as mere minority, and boasted that minority will only have their say but that the majority will have their way. And he has been having his way. But at least, for the first time, Akpabio understands that there is what is called majority in any human existence, except that his own charity has chosen to begin “abroad.”

What transpired between Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senate Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume on live television crowned Akpabio as a “lawbreaker.” When Ndume, a fourth term Senator sensed that Senator Akpabio’s blunders had gone to
high high heavens, he called Akpabio to order to safe the senate from further embarrassing outings. But the “big masquerade” had no respect for even those who wore him the costume, including Ndume.

How on earth could a Senate President deliberate on a bill that had no title? But the he had ruled! Hence, no going back! Like Nigerians would say, it is clear to the senators that they have entered “one chance.” It is really the dairy of a lawbreaker!

Back home, to Senator Akpabio’s home State, Akwa Ibom, what have the State benefitted from his Senate Presidency?

Of all the South South States, Akpabio is only at war with Akwa Ibom. A vindictive, he ensured that none of the Senators from Akwa Ibom got the chairmanship of any Senate Committee. He rather prefers to work with Senators from Cross River State, overloading them with juicy positions just to spite Akwa Ibom.

Senator Akpabio attracts investments and builds other States but the only thing Akwa Ibom State has benefitted from his position is his avowed commitment to destroy his own State and set it on fire.

For instance, all fingers are pointing to the Senate President on the needless brouhaha over the amended Traditional Rulers Council law in Akwa Ibom State which has created the office of the President-General. Akpabio mobilized his brothers, aides and allies to protest and destabilize the peaceful State.

According to him, the amended TRC law has made the Ibibio to be a majority which he does not want to hear. Like a man who speaks from both sides of his mouth, when he goes to the Senate, he admits there is majority but does not want to hear that in Akwa Ibom State. In fact, that is Akpabio’s most cherished constituency project.

Senator Akpabio believes Ifim Ibom Ibibio should not exist because Ibibio should not be. He does not know that by doing this he is also fighting himself because he is equally an Ibibio man. An Ibibio man from the Annang speaking part of Akwa Ibom State.

This is the same Akpabio that will mobilize, and practically relocate the Senate to an unknown village in Yorubaland to prostrate before a third class chief to receive low grade Chieftaincy title just to please his destiny helpers but works tirelessly to decimate the traditional institution in Akwa Ibom State.

All of this, so far, paints the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio in ironically bright colours of a Chief lawbreaker.

As he enters the fifth month of his Senate Presidency, his greatest challenge should be how to turn a new leaf, be accepted by his colleagues and make Nigerians to have the impression that he is working for the overall good, prosperity and development of the nation.

That is also the challenge of the 10th Senate. Senator Akpabio should stop being the Chief lawbreaker of Nigeria!