Contrary to the denial by the Senate that there was no plot to impeach the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, The Eagle Online has been told the real reasons some Senators, especially from the North, are against his continued leadership of the National Assembly and the Red Chamber.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Yemi Adaramodu, had waved aside the plot in a statement.
In the statement, Adaramodu said: “Our attention has just been drawn to a syndicated satanic verses in a section of the media, of purported and illusory plots of leadership change in the Senate.
“The Nigerian Senate is one united and fraternal family. This imaginative composition is in the realm of the fake and fallacious story of 100m per legislator. It’s apt to note that the10th Senate, under the leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio has carried out its Legislative and constitutional duties diligently.
“Within a span of less than 60 Legislative days, the Senate has passed life enhancing bills and motions. It has screened and confirmed Service Chiefs and Ministers, among others, apart from very essential oversight functions.
“We urge the fifth columnists, who operate undoubtedly outside the Senate, desperate to cause disharmony through media stunts and thus clipping the wings of Nigeria’s democracy, to take caution.
“The Senate should be allowed fresh air to settle down for its national assignments, so that the Nigerian project can move forward. The media too, should be discerning not to be used as hand tool to these retailers of fake and bad news.”
However, sources told The Eagle Online that Senators, led by their counterparts from the North, are up in arms against Akpabio for the choices of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as head of the country’s revenue generating agencies and policies formulation, failure to release funds to petrol importers as subsidy and refusal to accede to a 40 percent increase in tariff by Electricity Distribution Companies.
Among those being complained about included the newly-appointed Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zach Adedeji; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; and Controller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi.
The aggrieved senators believe Akpabio should have been able to “curtail the President from making the appointments they believed are in favour of one part of the country, especially Yorubaland, where Tinubu hails from”.
They have since tagged the appointments the “Yorubanisation” of the financial ecosystem by Tinubu.
The senators are also aggrieved by the perceived refusal of Akpabio to deal with some powerful interest groups, particularly petrol importers and electricity distribution companies, on some proposed financial deals bordering on 40 per cent electricity tariff hike and payment of outstanding money to fuel importers.
The group, which was believed initially to be solely aggrieved over alleged unfavourable distribution of “Grade A” Senate committees leadership in favour of those who backed Akpabio to emerge as the President of the Senate, now has Senator Elisha Abbo as its face.
Apart from the representative of Adamawa North Senatorial District, others in the group are said to include former Governors from the North and at least one from the South.
A source in the group said: “The main issue is our fear that Akpabio cannot check this Yorubanisation of the financial system that is going on now.
“Yes, the reason why you can see that Northerners are mostly involved is that most of those being removed and replaced with Yoruba are Northerners.”
The target of the group is to replace Akpabio with a Senator they believe can checkmate President Tinubu.
By doing this, the group, it was learnt, would also have served the interest of those who believe they have been shortchanged in the economic sector.
This is largely those who have been benefitting from the subsidy in the petroleum industry.
They are claiming to have reached an agreement with President Tinubu and Senator Akpabio on the payment of subsidy to petrol importers.
The Presidency, according to sources, was expected to have paid the importers from funds generated from the removal of fuel subsidy.
This was said to be in the region of N2 trillion.
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But this has not been done.
Another interest group that has infiltrated the ranks of the dissident senators were some Electricity Distribution Companies said to have also reached an agreement with the Presidency and Akpabio for an upward review of tariff by at least 40 percent.
That agreement was, however, discountenanced on the floor of the Senate by Akpabio.
Just like those being pushed out in the appointments in the financial sector, Northern business interest groups are believed to be more affected by the decision not to pay the petrol importers and increase electricity tariff.
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