The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has urged Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu, as he labours to fix the economy.
Akpabio, who described the economy as “foamy”, said it was left wobbling by the embattled former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, whom he alleged created a very big hole in the national treasury.
He said Tinubu inherited a battered economy which he is currently trying to salvage and navigate away from the stranglehold of sleaze and corruption.
The Senate president made the plea at Ikot Ekpene Stadium over the weekend, when his kinsmen from Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District hosted him and his National Assembly colleagues in an elaborate welcome reception since taking the Senate Presidential mantle last year.
He recalled that his earlier remarks on Emefiele being the major culprit responsible for failure of the economy, had drawn the ire of the former CBN boss, who took him (Akpabio) to court, but maintained that; “I still stand by my position,” despite the court case.
Expressing optimism and confidence in the economy bouncing back stronger, Akpabio assured that President Tinubu, has the magic wand to retool the economy and put it back on the trajectory of growth as he did as governor of Lagos State which became one of the most bouyant economies in Africa.
He said the knowledge and political ingenuity of three former governors, namely Tinubu as President; Kashim Shettima, former Borno State Governor (Vice President) and himself, as former Akwa Ibom State governor, will help the country return to the right economic path.
He assured the people of the state, the South-South region and the country, of all – round federal presence, assuring that the coastal road coming all the way from Lagos to Calabar, would cut across various states in the South West, South East and the South South political zones, with attendant socio -economic developments.
The Senate President also assured the host governor, Pastor Umo Eno, of the Deep Seaport, and other federal government projects and urged him to liaise with the managing director (MD) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Samuel Ogbuku, to extend the ongoing road project from the neighbouring Abia State to Ini, Ikono, Ikot Ekpene to connect Uyo, the State tate capital.
“You have asked for Seaport, you will not only get Seaport, you will get roads, flyovers, and other federal projects, and we are going to do this because of you,” he stressed.
He however urged the governor to live above board as a Pastor, to which the governor agreed.
However, governor Eno, who joined others to welcome Akpabio, thanked President Tinubu, for finding an Akwa Ibom son fitting for the exalted position of number three citizen, and pledged to work with the centre, in spite of political party differences to bring development to the state.
He, therefore, appealed to the Senate President, not to truncate the governorship succession plan laid down in the State by successive approximations since the return of democracy in 1999, by allowing him to see through his eight years as was the case of Obong Victor Attah (1999-2007); Chief Godswill Akpabio (2007 -2015) and Mr. Udom Emmanuel (2015-2023).
Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, extolled the leadership virtues of Senator Akpabio.