A member of the governing council of Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, Imo State and a chieftain of the APC in Akwa Ibom, Hon Rachel Nse has called on the newly elected Senators to join hands in electing Senator Godswill Akpabio as the President of the Senate in the 10th Assembly.
Hon. Rachel, while in a parley with newsmen in her Uyo residence, maintained that Sen. Akpabio’s unprecedented performance as a former commissioner, governor, senate Minority Leader and minister has placed him at the forefront of the race with both legislative and executive experiences. She further added that Sen. Akpabio has remained outstandingly different in the delivery of good governance and people oriented laws as well as policies.
She asserted that amidst diverse views and debates around the issue of who will take the helm as the leader of the upper legislative chamber of the country, the odds are strongly in favour of Senator Godswill Akpabio. Hon. Rachel, however, warned against the repeat of the errors of the Saraki-led 8th Senate and emphasized the need to support a reliable ally of the President-Elect from the South-South zone.
“Senator Akpabio believed, understood and had internalized the dreams and visions of Renewed Hope ’23 and beyond. As a result, he, on his own volition, stepped down to support the Presidential bid of ABAT…” She added.
According to the board member, the South-South geopolitical zone enjoys the first right of refusal ahead of other geopolitical zones in the country as the South East zone has successfully produced five Presidents of the Senate from 1999-2007; North Central from 2007-2019 ,and the North East 2019 – till date. She argued that for equity, fairness and inclusiveness, it would represent the true instrument of federal character and would also be equitable if the leadership of 10th Assembly is rightly zoned to the South South zone as the South West zone already has the President-Elect.
Honourable Rachel stated that patriotism to one’s nation, loyalty and commitment to the party, her candidates, interest (s) and ideologies should as well be a pivotal and determining factor in electing the ‘number three man’ in the nation. She reiterated her points by stating that ” … as a nationalist, Sen. Akpabio did not only canvass and garner support for himself only – he delivered over 160,000+ votes to the party’s presidential candidate, HE Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and all the party’s House of Representatives candidates within his senatorial district… this feat, to a lot of us, is considered a no mean one even as the votes from Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District surpasses the total votes accruable to the APC from the South East Zone”.
Again, the honourable member pointed that even as a first-timer in the red chamber the senator emerged the minority leader owing to his capacity and exceptional leadership prowess. She added that during the first tenure of the revered senator, breathtaking achievements were recorded; bills, motions, constituency projects , and active participation in matters of national importance.
Sen. Akpabio remains the bridge builder who jettisoned his personal interest in order to prioritize the interest of his people and that of the nation.
In her closing remarks, Hon. Rachel Nse, while enjoining newsmen to harness the plethora of tools in their disposal towards independently analyzing the above raised indices, acknowledges the strength of the senators-elect, congratulated them and appealed to the senators-elect to opt for an astounding leader, trusted ally of the President-Elect and a party man who’d ensure inclusiveness and protect in integrity of the 10th Assembly.