Political leaders urge aggrieved Senators not to scuttle 10th Assembly, says they should reject Tambuwal as minority leader

Some political leaders, who are members of Citizens Network for Peace and Development in Nigeria (CNPDN), at the weekend, raised the alarm that they have uncovered plans by some aggrieved Senators to create crisis in the 10th Senate.

National Secretary of the Forum, Francis Okereke Wainwei and other leaders, while addressing newsmen, called for calm, but vowed to expose the lawmakers if they pull through with their threats.

Speaking on plans by aggrieved opposition Senators to disturb the peace of the Senate ahead of resumption of plenary on July 4, 2023, Wainwei said such moves will be counterproductive.

According to them, the aggrieved Senators were the ones that worked against the collective interest of the nation, when Akpabio was endorsed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Bayelsa-born rights activist said the senators were the ones behind the candidature of Abdulaziz Yari for Senate President campaigns and activities and have vowed to continue pursuing their “unpatriotic, selfish and parochial interests by teaming up with the major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to frustrate the leadership of the 10th Senate, even after losing out in a free and fair elections conducted in the public glare at the Senate.”

He warned them to refrain from “distracting the leadership of the Senate and allow it to focus on working harmoniously with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to deliver quality and life-transforming projects and programmes to alleviate the pathetic plight of the long-suffering masses of this country. The era of politics is over and therefore, they should accept their defeat in good faith and give peace a chance.

“They can still contribute in enhancing the legislative process by making informed, robust and well-researched contributions on the floor of the Senate and In committee sessions, if their desire to take over the leadership of the Senate is purely a patriotic one.”

Zeroing in on the former governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the political leaders described him as a “desperate and serial political betrayer”, who frustrated President Goodluck Jonathan as President and betrayed Tinubu in 2011 after he emerged Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“We totally reject the scheming of Tambuwal and Co, geared towards high-jacking the leadership of the minority parties in the Senate for selfish and destructive purposes. Tambuwal should not be allowed to emerge as the minority leader of the Senate because of his antecedents of selfish and acrimonious politics,” the leaders noted.

They said Tambuwal and some senators are trying to recreate the acrimonious relationships between the National Assembly and the Executive that rocked the boat of governance in the past, that greatly slowed down the pace of governance and negatively affected the effectiveness of those administrations.