Nigerians on social media have condemned Senate President Godswill Akpabio for sharing money among senators for holidays amid unbearable hardship by Nigerians.
In the video which surfaced online on Wednesday, August 9, Akpabio made the statement before a motion of adjournment was moved at the end of the Senate’s ministerial screening.
He told the senators in the Upper Chamber that the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Magaji Tambuwal will wire some money into their various bank accounts to enable them to enjoy their holiday.
“In order to enable all of us to enjoy our holidays, a token has been sent to our various accounts by the Clerk of the National Assembly…,” Akpabio said amid interruptions from Senators, who were apparently dissatisfied with his public disclosure for fear of a backlash.
The development forced the Senate President to pause a bit and thereafter withdraw the statement for the record and rephrased the same information.
“In order to enjoy your holidays, the Senate President has sent prayers to your mailboxes to assist you to go on a safe journey and return,” Akpabio had said in the alternative to calm down frayed nerves.
But, Nigerians have taken to social media to berate the Senate President and his colleagues for allegedly feeding fat on the nation’s commonwealth at a time majority of Nigerians were facing economic challenges occasioned by Federal Government’s policy of petrol subsidy removal, among others.
Some also wondered why political officeholders would enjoy perks of office to the fullest while President Bola Tinubu was asking ordinary Nigerians to sacrifice.
Reacting, activist and self-proclaimed defender of democracy, Comrade Timi Frank, berated Senate President Akpabio over his revelation that money had been sent to all Senators by the management of the National Assembly to enjoy their annual vacation.
Frank described Akpabio’s revelation on a live national TV as a “show of shame” and a mockery of democracy and Nigerians, even as he called on the Senate President to resign his position immediately.
He said it was insensitive for the federal lawmakers to enjoy national resources in the name of mere holidaying at a time Nigerians were facing hardships and other economic challenges.
Frank, therefore, called on President Tinubu to act now and end Akpabio’s leadership of the Senate and its attendant ‘national embarrassment’ by telling him to resign immediately.
“The show of shame that was demonstrated today (Monday) on a live national television where the Senate under Akpabio was telling the whole world and Nigerians that they are going on vacation, and the Clerk of the National Assembly has paid money to every account of the Nigerian Senators.
“This is the biggest joke we’ve seen in recent times, and that is the main reason why I’m making it bold and very clear that Senator God’swill Akpabio must immediately resign as the Senate President. He cannot continue to make mockery of our democracy and make mockery of Nigerians.
“This is the same man who made mockery of the poor, and made it very clear in the Senate chamber by saying ‘Let the poor breathe’. Meanwhile, he was laughing because he knew they will definitely never allow the poor to breathe, they’ll continue to suffocate the poor and that is what he demonstrated today (Monday) on a live TV by sharing the resources that belongs to the poor to their personal accounts.
“Akpabio has shown that since the inception of the Nigerian Senate, this is the most corrupt Senate President ever Nigerians have witnessed.
“I use this opportunity to call on President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to end this joke and Nollywood act of Akpabio, that this is the time he the President must tell Akpabio to resign for this show of shame and national embarrassment, Nigerians can no longer take this in this APC government anymore,” Frank stated.
In the same vein, popular social activist and skit maker, Debo Adebayo, also known as Mr Macaroni, has tackled the leadership of the National Assembly for sharing money among themselves for holidays amid unbearable hardship by Nigerians.
Macaroni’s reaction trailed a video circulating online in which the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, during a plenary session announced to his colleagues that “a token has been sent to their various accounts to enable them enjoy their holiday”.
In a post on his Twitter account on Wednesday, the thespian questioned why poor Nigerians have to pay for the luxurious lifestyle of their leaders.
“The Senate President has sent very expensive prayers out of the insufficient blessings of over 200 million people to himself and his already blessed colleagues at the National Assembly.
“These are the leaders that have asked struggling Nigerians to make sacrifices if they want things to work in the country. So while Nigerians are going through unbearable hardship, our leaders are sending money to themselves to enjoy holidays.
“Who are those that should be making sacrifices if not for our leaders?
“Do our leaders understand that leadership is about service, selfishness and sacrifice??
“Why do the poor people of Nigeria have to pay for the luxurious lifestyle of the leaders?? Why??? This isn’t leadership!!!”
Also, former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani has reacted to the statement made by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announcing that a token has been sent to senators to enjoy their recess.
Reacting via a Twitter post on Wednesday, Sani said crediting the accounts of lawmakers has always been done underground but Akpabio has revealed it to the world.
He wrote: “Crediting the Legislator’s accounts are done under the mute button, the Uncommon Senate President has mistakenly pressed the alarm.”
See other reactions below
Uyi Samuel tweeted: They keep sharing money meanwhile Nigerians are suffering this is an Act of wickedness.”
Bashiru Akanbi: “We don’t have leaders, but politicians. The earliest we recognise these men are leaches and parasites to this blessed nation the better we have a chance in moving ahead.”
Ernest Rutherford also tweeted: “The annoying part is that these bunch of thieves just sit down in the hall doing nothing, year in and year out, and still share tax payer’s money at every given opportunity.”
Kassandra Ugochukwu tweeted: “The era of ‘Ghana Must Go bags’ are over, the APC era is for tokens in their bank accounts or emails… It’s no wonder they no longer fight on the floor of the house and none of them brings in thugs or hijacks the mace to his village…It all Rubber Stamps or Paper marks.”
Rotimi Ebenezer wrote: “Nigerian politicians and corruption were just 5&6. He change it when he realise he was still on national tv! God bless Nigeria.”
Also reacting, IAmGtreal tweeted: “Disgraceful conduct in the Senate house, rowdy and unorganised.”
Taymee also tweeted: “No worries, we deserve all the despair and suffering until we get sense by force ..the electorate is more than the elected yet the elected eat better than the electorate… Nigeria is unreal!.”
Another Twitter user who simply goes by the name Peace on the social networking app tweeted: “Just look at this shameless Nig senators. Meanwhile, people can’t even afford to put on a generator from 7-10 pm again. A shame.”
Smiling Judge also tweeted: “Absurd, it’s a pity we’re in such a dilemma.”
The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele has assured Nigerians that the ongoing economic reforms by the Bola Ahmed administration are beginning to yield good results.
Oyedele gave the assurance in his speech while enlightening the audience on the benefits of the ongoing reforms on The Platform organised by the Covenant Nation on Saturday.
He emphasised that removing petrol subsidies is the best decision Nigeria could ever make.
“Removing subsidies is the best decision we made as a country. And we can now say that for once, subsidy is gone.
“We were living on window-dressed realities. If you look back to about two years ago, naira exchange rate was N450 depending on who you asked. But was our exchange rate really N450? If you wanted to buy petrol, it was under N200 per litre, but was it really under N200 per litre? “There wasnt band A at the time. Electricity was what time at the time, but was that really the price? A country can afford to sell petrol at N200 per litre if you can afford it. But there is everything wrong if you can not afford it.
“I am a parent and will like to send my kids to school. If I can afford a school of N200 million her term, no problem. But if I cannot, they will do just first term and wont be able to continue their education. Maybe they should go to a school of N200, 000 per term.
“So, Nigeria was doing worse than it ought to, and then we had this sense of “our economy was not doing great”. We thought thsat our economy is the largest in Africa.
“Our GDP was around N450 million dollars. We thought our per capita income is about $2, 000 per person but it was not up to that.
“Nigeria used all its revenue to service debts. We were not paying debts back o. we were just servicing it. In order what, everything other thing we did, from paying salaries to fighting Boko Haram, we were just borrowing.
“When Nigeria borrowed, we borrowed high digits and those were the funds we were using to run the economy and service debts.
“If anybody was not losing his sleep with just that alone, then, he must be from another planet. The outcome of what was happening was predictable. It was a Sri Lanka happening to us. It was a Venezuela.
“Their countries were that- you would hold money and you wouldn’t be able to get fuel to buy. There was a tile in Sri Lanka that you couldn’t drive your car everyday of the week because there was no fuel.
“Our GDP growth rate was very low. Over the past ten years less than 10 per cent. If you do it in real time, it was negative.
He explained that the Nigerian government had resorted to printing of money to spend, which according to him was the worst any country could ever do.
“Ways and Means was high. We were printing money to spend. We couldn’t borrow abroad because they said lending us was risky. We didn’t have cash flow. And the capacity to borrow locally was low. So we were printing money to spend, and that is even dangerous.
“We printed close to N40 trillion naira plus interest. And we were surprised there was inflation. Nigerians don’t realise that the invisible controls the visible. And that is because the removal of subsidies is not seen physically. It is not something you can touch.
“Even some airlines stopped flying to Nigeria because of the backlog of FX debt to foreign airlines.
He advised Nigerians to have a positive outlook on the country.
“There is nothing wrong with Nigeria. But maybe there is something wrong with the people ruling Nigeria.
“In America, people get killed every day by gunmen. But have you ever heard Americans say “May America never happen to you?’
Let’s stop saying “May Nigeria never happen to you’. Maybe we can turn it into “May Nigeria work for me”
“Going by available data, I personally believe that the worst is behind us, he said.
Since assuming office in May 2023, President Tinubu has implemented a number of reforms such as the removal of fuel subsidies and introduction of the controversial tax bills.
The removal of fuel subsidies has since spiralled into increase in prices of goods and services.
The pump prices of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, have risen to between N1,050 and N1,150/litre depending on the area of purchase, following the hike in the cost of the commodity by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and various depot owners.
Dealers confirmed that PMS prices would continue to rise since the major component in fuel production, crude oil, has been on the upward swing lately.
The National President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Festus Osifo, earlier alluded to this when he pointed out that petrol prices might soon rise if the cost of crude oil continued to increase.
“The crude price rose to $80 per barrel today (Thursday). Without exchange rate improvements, PMS prices will increase in the coming weeks,” Osifo stated in Lagos.
On Friday, there was an upward adjustment in the price of petrol produced by the Dangote Petrochemical Refinery.
The $20bn plant raised its PMS from N899/litre to N955/litre at its loading gantry.
The refinery, in an email statement sent to its customers and obtained by one of our correspondents, said its refined products would now be priced at the new cost.
It noted that marketers buying between two million and 4.99 million litres would now buy at N955/litre, while five million litres and above would buy at N950/litre.
The amount marks an increase of N55.5 or 6.17 per cent from N899.50/litre announced as a holiday discount for Nigerians last December.
This adjustment applies to all stock balances yet to be lifted by the stated time, while pending stock as of the effective time will also be repriced at the updated rates.
The statement added that the new price regime took effect from 5:30pm on Friday.
The notice, titled, ‘Communication on PMS Price Review’, read, “Dear esteemed customer, Trust this email finds you well.
“Kindly be advised that effective from 5:30 pm today (Friday), an upward adjustment has been implemented on the gantry price of Premium Motor Spirit. Quantity Previous Price (NGN/Litre): 2 million-9.99 million – N899.50; 10 million litres & above – N895.
“Quantity New Price (NGN/ Litre): 2 million – 4.99 million – N955; 5 million litres & above – N950.
“Please note that all stock balances yet to be lifted as of the above-stated time are to be repriced at the new reviewed prices. We shall communicate with customers on their revised volumes based on the reviewed prices, in due course.”
The price increase sparked widespread effects on the downstream petroleum sector, particularly private depots and retail markets.
Findings showed that private depots, despite having old stocks, increased their loading costs to N970 in Lagos and N1,000 in Calabar.
A breakdown analysing petrol price movements at loading depots after the announcement of the new price showed that Sahara depot increased its loading price by N20 to N970/litre from N950/litre on Thursday.
Pinnacle Depot increased its price to N970 from N921, while Wosbab Depot made a similar change to N965 from the N940 it sold a litre of petrol on Thursday.
NIPCO increased its loading costs by N30 to N980 from N950 on Thursday.
Also, a private depot, Rainoil, increased its loading costs to N970 from N950. A private depot, Alkanes, in Calabar, asked retailers to pay N1,000/litre to receive products.
Zone 4 and Mainland depots increased their loading costs to N1,005/litre from N985, which sold products on Thursday.
The Ogun State Government is considering signing the death warrants of condemned criminals sentenced by competent courts to serve as a deterrent to those who may want to commit heinous crimes in the state.
The State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwasina Ogungbade (SAN), disclosed this on Friday after a scheduled visit to inmates and facilities at the Ibara Correctional Centre in the state capital.
Ogungbade, who was conducted around by officers of the Centre, expressed concern over the increase in criminal activities like ritual killings, kidnapping, cultism, and other heinous crimes in recent times in the state.
According to him, the state government is ready to take the bull by the horns by implementing the law through signing the death warrants.
He observed that despite the proactive measures put in place by security agencies in tackling crimes, there appears to be an upsurge, particularly in ritual killings, adding that the government had identified the wrong perception that there would be no repercussions when some of these crimes are committed as the root cause.
“I can tell you that we are looking seriously at a means of sending a message that Ogun State is not a place where you can come and commit such serious crimes and get away with it,” he said.
“The law as of today, for example, states that a murder case attracts the death penalty and some other offences. But if you look at it nationally, for a long time, there has been reluctance on the part of governments across the states, particularly since the advent of democratic rule, to sign death warrants. But I assure you that at this time, we are looking very seriously at following the law to its letter.
“It is part of the duty of the governor to sign death warrants, and I am certain that when he took that oath of office, he took it knowing full well the responsibilities that come with it. He is a governor who upholds the rule of law, so I can assure you that in deserving cases, he will not shy away from that constitutional duty.
“Though I may not give a timeline, I can only say that in deserving cases, which we are looking at, it will happen.”
He said that the government would not be reckless about this, rather it would be highly responsive and responsible.
“If somebody has gone through the process of a fair trial and has made use of all his appeals, we will begin to look seriously at implementing those judgments, hoping that it will serve as a deterrent to those who still intend to carry out such crimes. But in doing so, I can assure you that we will be systematic about it; we will not be reckless about it,” he assured.
He said the present administration has done a lot in terms of granting amnesty to those condemned to death by turning their death sentences into life imprisonment, reducing life imprisonment to a fixed term of imprisonment, as well as allowing punishment to serve as a deterrent.
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