By Chidiebere Onyemaizu
Eseme Eyiboh, a former member and Spokesperson of the House of Representatives is the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity and Spokesperson to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
In this interview, among other issues, Eyiboh dispels the notion that the Senate under Akpabio is a rubber stamp and stooge of the Executive.
Critics say the Senate President and the Senate under his leadership have manifestly become rubber stamps to the Executive. How do you react to this?
The people making this allegation are enthusiastic about legislative delinquency, institutional brigandage and the invidious reigns. The prescriptions of modern democracy are collaboration and constructive engagements. In the heart of the collaboration and constructive engagement is the empowerment of the people in participatory representation. The current Senate is populated by design and cutting-edge thinkers whose public service pedigree and community development experiences are top-notch and people-driven. The 10th Senate with its membership is focused, thorough and foresighted. Globally, bayonets and submarines are no longer tools of modern warfare but mind power and cutting-edge strategies. The current Senate is promoting institutional integrity, innovative legislative agenda and open government whilst promoting the security and welfare of its people not needless activism and brigandage which modern democracy never intended with the creation of the legislature. The participation of the people through its elected representatives and the collaborative tendencies amongst the various arms of government are the balanced diet for robust governance, transformative leadership and Nation Building. Now the question you and I must ask is, has Senator Akpabio’s leadership of the National Assembly brought benefits to the people? The answer is yes! And what are these benefits? What the National Assembly is having now with the Executive does not translate to undermining the institutional independence of the legislature. No! It is a collaborative and constructive people driven engagement. So, this Executive-Legislature relationship has brought about seamless national development strategies and objectives. I can give you examples.
What are the examples? Cite them.
Before now, oversight was staying within the National Assembly and inviting ministries, departments and agencies of government to come for interface and defend of budgets but the Senate under the Leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio has expanded the jurisprudence of oversight and investigative mandates. The innovations have culminated into the recent visit of the National Assembly to the Dangote refinery as part of their efforts to unravel the endless cesspool of corrupt tendencies in the oil and gas sector. They listened to all informed parties in the industry though not limited to Dangote, NNPCL and NUPRC. That oversight visit threw up so many issues of national importance. And the oil and gas industry is very important to Nigeria because 95 percent of our economy is dependent on hydrocarbon resources. Because of that oversight visit by the Senate, Mr President stepped in and directed that NNPCL should sell crude oil to local refineries including Dangote in Naira which will in turn bring down pressure on Dollars and production cost of petroleum products occasioning positive price regime on the cost of goods and services, including transportation. That could not have been possible if the Senate didn’t undertake that oversight. That is one of the positives but nobody is appreciating it. That totally makes the accusation of rubber stamp very uncharitable and irrelevant.
As we speak now, the Senate has constituted an ad-hoc committee on oil and gas headed by the Senate leader, Senator Bamidele Opeyemi. So, there is an interplay of accountability, there is high demand for accountability and transparency in the industry. People are sitting straight now because the Senate has been able to demonstrate, by that single act, the expansion and the need for oversight. On the other hand, companies like Innoson Motors and others that are private enterprises are now encouraged that the government is interested in what they are doing. So, if they go to Dangote today, go to Innoson tomorrow and go to Bua next tomorrow, and then to Ajaokuta and all of that, it will further inspire confidence in the system. These strategic engagements in oversight have raised the ante of open government and citizenship participation. We are talking about open government and accountability, that’s what the people will benefit from. By the international covenant on civil and political rights, article 25, participation is emphasized and that participation has been domesticated in our constitution where there is an emphasis on participation of the people, it is there in section 14. So, the welfare and security of the people can only be possible if there is an interplay of constructive engagement and collaborative synergy, there is an understanding of the objectives of government by the three arms of government, that’s when the people will benefit from it. Now, there used to be strike upon strike and negotiation rigmarole and all what’s not but as I’m talking to you today, because of that symbiotic relationship, regardless of the independence of the legislature which has never been in doubt, we now have stability in the system; there is now industrial harmony.
When the Executive said it wanted to send soldiers to Niger, it was the same National Assembly under Akpabio that said No, let’s use diplomacy and stakeholders engagement to solve the Niger issue. Did that make it a rubber stamp? NO. When the presidency sent out a list of ministerial nominees for appointment, three of the nominees, in the course of the screening, three nominees were dropped. Has it ever happened? Does that reflect on our consciousness that the National Assembly is indeed independent? Look at the issue of minimum wage. For how long has it been due? The Executive sent it and that was done.
The Senate President has severally been linked with gaffes, including the recent one just at the cusp of the nationwide hunger protest, wherein he was reported to have said, “we will be eating while they are protesting”. Are you not concerned that the gaffes are injurious to his image and personality as the third highest political office holder in the country?
The Senate President attended a stakeholders meeting organised by the NNDC in Port Harcourt…. don’t bother about what was said and taken out of context. What was the reason for going there? What did he succeed in doing there? The Niger Delta is a flashpoint. The whole of the coastlines of the Niger Delta are flashpoints in terms of security; of course everyone, including the Senate President, knew that if the nationwide protest was going to be peaceful, it won’t be peaceful there. The military is fighting illegal refineries, the kidnappers and all sorts of criminalities there. What Akpabio did was to go there to tell his people, please, don’t join the protest, he went there to have a buy-in of the people of the Niger Delta to promote peace and harmony because if anything happens, Niger Delta is like a balloon and a pin. If you take a pin and prick a little on the balloon, the balloon will be deflated. The whole maritime corridor cutting across the South South, South East and South West is where our economy is dependent upon; he went there to calm the frayed nerves, instead of people to appreciate the fact that he went to the Niger Delta for national security reasons to calm the frayed nerves of the people there. They are now trying to do the content analysis of what he didn’t say and what he said. That is not the way to govern. You must appreciate all that he is doing. The Senate under him is very stable and this is a man who contested the most unpredicted Senate Presidency election in recent history. That election was the freest, the fairest and most transparent. And immediately after the election, he decided to adopt the no victor, no vanquished approach. Today, Senator Abdullaziz Yari who contested the Senate Presidency election against him, they are relating like brothers, they exchange visits. The Senate under Akpabio is the most focused Senate you will ever think of, it is the most peaceful and harmonious Senate you will ever think of, so this is a man who is given to experience. The only problem Akpabio has is what I would like to tell you. Do you want to know?
Yes. Tell us the only problem he has
The problem Senator Akpabio has is the intolerant DNA to development deficit, injustice and ineffective legacy. As a former Commissioner in Akwa Ibom state, he introduced security Housing Estates in all the 31 local government areas of the state where the council chairmen, secretaries, treasurers, DPOs etc lived, they call it a security village. Under his watch as the Commissioner for Local Government, he introduced this across the state and it became a peer review thing for the 774 local government areas in Nigeria. Before he became the governor, people used to come to Akwa Ibom to shoot films depicting the average Akwa Ibom girl-child as a housemaid, people came to Akwa Ibom to look for nannies and housemaids and domestic servants but when he became the governor, he declared free and compulsory free education in Akwa Ibom. So, most of those children who benefited when he was governor are today pilots, Doctors, Pharmacists etc. That is a transformative leadership. Akwa Ibom was never a state you would mention but today the state is a sports tourist hub. Hope you are aware that the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo built by him is the only stadium approved by CAF in this country. Now, go look at the hospitals, for example Ibom hospital, look at the hospitals he built, he brought in the renaissance, he brought in rebirth to Akwa Ibom State. Today, Uyo is the hub for Conferences, in fact the Nigerian Guild of Editors had their conference in Uyo recently. Every other person is heading down to Akwa Ibom because of the exquisite hotels in Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, Eket etc- the La Meridien, Sheraton Four Point among others.
And all the roads in Akwa Ibom are roads you would rather see in California, he got Julius Berger to build those roads. If it rains in Akwa Ibom, if you stand at that spot where water is running, in five minutes the place will be dry and you will be wondering where the water has gone to. So, Godswill Akpabio is a man whose DNA is very allergic to under-development. He is very impatient with the human capacity development deficit.
And when he became the Senate President, he told some of us- his friends, family, associates, I don’t want anything in this life, all I want is for the people of Nigeria to attain the glory of the land and have a country where everything is in abundance, and everyone will be proud to develop national consciousness. So, Akpabio has a problem with under-development and he doesn’t want to stay where there is injustice, he doesn’t want to stay where there is under development; he doesn’t want to stay where there is no good governance. So, what people need to do is to understand the philosophy of his development. Akpabio’s development philosophy is a renaissance. Most of the people criticising him are doing so out of political malice. They are mercantile politicians, so when they sell to the unsuspecting and uninformed members of the society these misgivings, they go to town with them using the social media. Ask them to tabulate what he has done wrong, and he has done right, and you will realise that what he has done right outweighs those things they perceive or imagine he has done wrong. Akpabio is a connecting rod for good governance in this country, he is about the only balanced diet we can use to promote the prosperity and growth of this nation, to connect the youthful generation and productive population to good governance and opportunities.
It is believed in certain quarters that the reason Senator Akpabio and the Senate under his leadership allegedly pander to the Executive is because of President Tinubu’s role in his emergence. They say he is beholden to the President as a kind of pay back. What is your take on this?
No. That is not correct. Senator Akpabio is a miler. He is a long-distance racer with precision. The Presidency of the Senate was a contest of history, reform and trust. Senator Akpabio’s pedigree in institutional development and unassailable capacity to develop human assets played a role in his emergence. In addition to this, Senator Akpabio is generous in heart and in act. Everybody, including his enemies knows this. So, any man who is generous in heart and in act can never have victory elude him in every circumstance, whether it is wrestling, football, whatever it is. That’s my word.
Secondly, he is not somebody who is given to people because he is looking for something, No! He is somebody who cultivates and keeps friendship overtime and that paid off for him. So, His Excellency, President Tinubu was only complementing the robust followership and support Senator Akpabio had earned. Otherwise, you saw the margin in the election; the margin didn’t show a rubber stamp, rather it showed competitiveness; the margin between him and Senator Yari showed competitiveness, it showed transparency. If it was in the days of yore, the party or presidency would have stepped in and of course nobody would have contested and even if any other candidate contest, he will not have up to three votes. The margin in that contest was a show of strength, a show of followership, a show of accountability. That is why the Senate is very stable as we speak.
There are also insinuations and speculations here and there about Senator Akpabio’s future as Senate President. Speculations are rife that the presidency and the ruling party, APC will not support his return as Senate president in 2027 on the grounds of the controversies around him and seeming embarrassments he brought to the system with his gaffes. How do you react to this?
Let me say two things to you: One, we should stop playing God because nobody knows what will happen in 2027. Some people may not even survive this year, so sometimes when we begin to forecast the future, we begin to play God and that’s spiritual sacrilege, let us not be talking about 2027. There were people who were talking about 2023 either for business, for prosperity or for election but they never made it, they were not there. So, let us talk about today, about now.
What is the future of this country now? The future of this country now is bright because of President Tinubu’s sustainable development initiatives. And some people are saying Akpabio will not be supported because he is constituting embarrassment, but let me tell you this, Akpabio is about one of the most invaluable change agent and brand managers of Nigeria, every where he goes and everything he does, he is rebranding Nigeria because he has the understanding of Nigeria, he is capable and because he sees tomorrow. He is a man who understands the strategies of brand in his communication and in his acts, and this is the man you won’t support? He is an asset. He is an asset to the country, asset to his state, asset to the Senate and asset to his family. He is an asset all round. Give it to him, whether you like him or not, give it to him, he is an asset.
What makes Senator Akpabio unique as a politician and as Senate President?
There are some people in positions of leadership who see responsibility as a gift by the people. Akpabio sees leadership as a responsibility that must be earned, that must be accountable for. So, to Akpabio, leadership is a responsibility which must be accounted for. And he is accounting for it, he sees leadership as something which has to be earned and not given. You work to earn it. And the difference between him and some other leaders is that while he remains in practice and in conduct as a leader, some other people who are leaders are seeing themselves as dealers because they are looking at what they intend to gain as a profit which is typical of a dealer. Some other leaders are Mercantilist but Akpabio is not, he is a leader in conduct, a leader in vision; he is a practical man. He knows that he has a responsibility to account for every position he finds himself, that was why when he was a Commissioner for Local Government in Akwa Ibom state, he was able to establish leadership by going into reform minded and innovative practices and when he became governor; he brought revolutionary reforms, he created a renaissance; that was leadership in practice, accountable leadership. When he came to the Senate and became Senate Minority leader, he exhibited the same leadership qualities. He was Minister for Niger Delta…over 20 something years the NDDC headquarters was not completed and the government was paying rent but when he became Minister, under one year, he completed the NNDC headquarters and spared the government from paying hundreds of millions in rents. That is purposeful leadership, transformative leadership. That is leadership that is earned, that is accountable. He is a leader who sees from the prism of the development of the people, and now as Senate President, I can assure you at the end of four years, the next job you are going to do is the content analysis of Akpabio’s transformative leadership in the Senate.
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