President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Saturday night, led the Nigerian delegation to the just-concluded Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assemly held in Luanda, Angola, to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to brief President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the outcome of the global parliamentary body’s meeting.
Recall that Akpabio was elected into the Executive Committee of the IPU, having been nominated by Kalu at the 147th legislative assembly for the executive position.
The development ultimately led to the breaking of a 59-old-year jinx of Nigeria’s absence in the decision-making organ of the parliamentary body.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Levinus Nwabughiogu, stated that earlier on their arrival from Angola via Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, both top Nigerian parliamentarians told journalists of their exploits at the assembly, saying Nigeria has now taken her rightful place in the comity of nations.
Akpabio also said that Nigeria’s membership of IPU’s top committee will create job opportunities for Nigerians.
He revealed that President Tinubu was consulted on their decisions while in Angola.
“A lot of employment opportunities will be created. A lot of offices will be opened. Sub national offices will be oppend and a lot of children who wish to be diplomats will have the opportunity of working there and it will also attract foreign direct investment in the area of training and retraining and capacity building not just for the legislators but for people who are in different fields. It’s quite a lot actually. The benefits are enormous. We thank God.
“And it is something we should dedicate to the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu because it was happening at this time. And we were also consulting and briefing him on what was going on and there were very critical decisions we had to make sure that he was involved as the President of the country because that was an international body. You can’t take a wrong step,” the Senate President was quoted as saying.
Speaking on the recent legal victory of Tinubu, Akpabio congratulated the President and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on the Supreme Court’s affirmation of his electoral victory at the February 25 presidential election.
He urged the President’s opponents to join hands with him in building the nation.
“We were very glad to receive the report of the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Supreme Court. So, we use this opportunity on arrival on the Nigerian soil to also congratulate him and our party, APC. We had no doubt that he won the election. We had no doubt that this was the will of God for Nigeria. And we pray that God will give him the wisdom, the health and sound mind to pilot the affairs of this country for the next 4 years. And we are also praying that those who contested against him up to turn courts to see the need to drop all their hatchets and join to build a greater Nigeria particularly at a time of this kind of economic difficulties. So, congratulations to us. Congratulations to Mr. President,” he stated.
