All Progressives Congress (APC) Support Group led by Engr. Jator Abido, Prince Danielson Momoh and Comrade Chinedu Livinus, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in the Senate’s refusal to clear three ministerial nominees.
It decried the roles played by the Senate President Godswill Akpabio and some security agencies in the just concluded ministerial screening where immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Stella Oketete (Delta State) and Sanni Abubakar Danladi were rejected over alleged security report and Supreme Court verdict.
Tinubu had recently transmitted to the Senate a list of 48 ministerial nominees to be screened by the Senate. However, on Monday and after a rigorous screening, the Senate cleared only 45 of the nominees and left out El-Rufai, Oketete and Danladi.
In a press release yesterday in Abuja, the APC Support Group described the action of the Senate as unjust and wondered why Akpabio would choose to work against his party’s interest.
The group said, “It’s unfortunate for Akpabio to be implicated in actions that seem detrimental to the All Progressives Congress (APC). During the election of President Bola Tinubu, prominent figures like El-Rufai and Stella Oketete played pivotal roles, ensuring that Tinubu secured victories not only in in their wards but states and the nation at large and must not be treated with utmost disrespect like the Senate just did.”
It wondered why there was no security report against El-Rufai and Oketete all through the electioneering campaigns, only for some overzealous security agencies working for enemies of the state to bring up imaginary security reports that are nothing but fictitious imaginations concocted to tarnish the image of the nominees and deprive them from enjoying their hard work.
“The contributions of Oketete who worked as the Secretary of Election Monitoring Committee and that of el-Rufai who served as the governor of Kaduna State during the elections demonstrated their commitment to the party’s success and they deserve to be rewarded.
Akpabio’s stance in the screening of ministers shows that he is not a true partyman and a clear indication that he has a hidden agenda behind his recent actions. It’s obvious he has an evil agenda which is potentially harming the unity and progress of the APC”, the statement added.
The group listed some of El-Rufai’s contributions which they described “as invaluable, as he stood steadfast in various challenges including a showdown with the former president over the introduction of new naira notes, and even confronting notable party figures like former Chairman Abdullahi Adamu and ex-Senate President Ahmed Lawan in the interest of the nation”.
The group appealed to the president and all relevant stakeholders to call Senator Akpabio to order, emphasising the importance of maintaining party cohesion and addressing any internal conflicts that may hinder the APC’s overall progress.
