A pro-democracy group, Rising-Up for a United Nigeria (RUN), has described the Senate President Godswill Akpabio as a critical support system for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The civil society organisation (CSO) with a focus on good governance, anti-corruption and advocacy, highlighted the key interventions by the Akpabio-led National Assembly (NASS) like halting the planned increase in electricity tariffs and several others, describing them as timely interventions.
At a press conference in Abuja on critical national developments, the national convener of RUN, Ambassador Solomon Adodo and representatives of 27 other CSOs and youth groups, said, “Nigerians are blessed to have a leader like Senator Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President. His progressive and people-oriented ideas have always ensured the speedy passage of bills and appropriations at the National Assembly and these in no small measure have complemented the speed of execution of people-driven policies, programmes and projects by the executive arm of government.”
He said at a time most Nigerians require every intervention of the government, the Senate under Akpabio swiftly acted and quashed the unpopular and anti-people attempts by unscrupulous capitalists to increase the electricity tariffs knowing what Nigerians are already passing through with the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, adding that “indeed, Senator Akpabio is a crucial and critical partner in the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration and we appreciate his unwavering support and goodwill”.
The CSOs and youth groups, which include the Guardians of Democracy and Development led by Mazi Igwe Ude-Umanta; Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative led by Comrade Danesi Momoh; Independent Public Service Accountability Watch led by Stephen Eriba; Partners for a Legislative Agenda for Nigeria headed by Mallam Suleiman Musa, called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to shelve its proposed protests against the government but should rather view itself as a partner in attaining rapid economic recovery and national development.
While calling on Nigerians to exercise a little patience with the current administration as concrete steps are underway to ease the current hardship, the group also charged Nigerians to equally hold their state governors accountable while also exploring innovative vistas to ramp up national productivity.
The CSOs said, “These are tough times but with the billions of naira going to the states from federal allocations, Nigerians must also hold their state governors accountable and demand development and the provision of welfare services from them.
“Emphasis must not only be placed on the federal government. The current administration is doing everything within its power to fix Nigeria and we should all see ourselves as partners with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to restore Nigeria to rapid development. There will be light at the end of the tunnel but like the Senate President hinted, citizens should beam their lights demanding accountability from the state governors,” Adodo said.
RUN also commended the Senate for commencing the probe into the “N30 trillion ways and means obtained by the Buhari administration.”
