– We have 86 Senators in our camp – Akapbio
Sola POPOOLA
Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared full support for the ambition of Senator Godswill Akpabio and Senator Barau Jibrin to be the Senate President and Deputy Senate President, respectively.
Governor Sanwo-Olu gave the endorsement while playing host to the “Stability Group” led by Senator Akpabio ,in Lago on Sunday.
Sanwo-Olu said he believed in the capacity and integrity of the former governor of Akwa Ibom State to give progressive and purposeful leadership in the 10th National Assembly.
“This is a project for the stability of the country, which will benefit Nigerians, especially the people who elected these distinguished lawmakers-elect. They are committed to working harmoniously with the executive, and this will bring about a win-win for all our citizens and for democracy.
“I have aligned myself with All Progressives Congress (APC) zoning decision, having read the legislative agenda being pushed forward by the Akpabio-led team, to raise the bar of lawmaking and readiness to collaborate with the incoming administration of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“I hereby appeal to the Stability Group to continue their consultation and collaboration, and to not take anyone for granted. They have personally assured me that they will make the senate leadership as inclusive as possible.
“The diversity they are preaching is reflected in the number of the senators-elect on the team; it is not one party. The membership cuts across all the parties that are represented in the National Assembly.
“I believe the incoming 10th National Assembly will be about great possibilities and shaping a new course for the nation. Given the outstanding profile and experience Senator Akpabio and his team are bringing to the table, I believe new standards will be set.
“In conclusion, I urge the incoming senate leadership to surpass the achievements recorded by the 9th senate.
Earlier, Senator Akpabio told the governor that he was prosecuting a
popular ambition as about 86 Senators across the geopolitical divide of the country have keyed In and hoping that the number could increase in days to come.
“Today, we are about 69 in number and it is still growing. We believe that by the time we get to June, we should expect this group to rise to about 85 to 86. All I know is that we are going to win.“I want to assure, sir that the people you see seated here are those shunning dollars and shunning pounds and shunning naira. The Senate is composed of men and women of integrity. We will not allow Nigeria to be bought. If leadership in the country goes to the highest bidder, I don’t think those like the late President Yar’Adua would have ruled Nigeria. Even the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, was not even available, I think he was somewhere else, I think Yola, when he became President.
“So, it’s not a function of money. We’ve seen money politics play out, even though we’ve not seen it play out in the 10th Senate yet. As a prelude to the inauguration, we’ve seen what is going on. We condemn it and we believe that integrity should come to play.”
In his remarks, Sanwo-Olu welcomed the lawmakers to Lagos and urged them to ensure that the 10th Senate collaborates with the incoming administration.
“I believe that you are best in class because the last election showed that you have to be good to your people for you to emerge as successful. So, I can tell you that whatever part of the country you have emerged from, you are best in class and your people must have seen something outstanding in all of you. And that brings me to the fact that you cannot bring down that trust and that expectation from your people.”
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