We Will Not Let You Down, Akpabio Tell Nigerians

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has said the current hunger and economic hardship being faced in the country are the consequences of almost 60 years of decay, blaming it on actions that “they took.”

Akpabio, stated this on Sunday at a Thanksgiving service organised by the senator representing Rivers south-east senatorial district, Barinaada Mpigi at Koroma, Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State. 

He said: “So the kind of debt and the economic mess that we are in… and lots of people do not understand.

“I remember President Obama saying you cannot know Washington until you get to Washington. So by the time we went in to look at the economic situation of the country, it was terrible.

Speaking further, Akpabio appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience, assuring them that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration would fulfill its promises they “campaigned and danced” around the country for.

“But rest assured that we campaigned for this job, we campaigned and danced around the country. We will not let you down.

“We will get to the bottom of it. All we need is patience. The rot that has happened in Nigeria for so many years, for almost 60 years, cannot be solved in six months. So what we need is patience… patience from all quarters,” he said.

Speaking on the allegations against the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, the senate president noted that they are so many that the federal government is uncertain about which charges to bring against him.

“So you know that the former governor of central bank, we don’t even know what to charge him with.

“Whether to charge him for putting foam on top of a pail, or to charge him for illegal possession of firearms, or to charge him for printing notes without income. I don’t know what we’re going to charge him with.

“But what we know is that yes, there is hunger today because of the kind of policies and actions that they took and we recognise that, and I think every political party should recognise that there is hunger, and we’re battling to ensure that Nigerians can sleep with their eyes closed.

“There is insecurity. We’re battling to ensure Nigerians can eat three square meals a day.

Present at the event was, Dave Umahi, the Minister of Works; Martin Amaewhule, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly; and other dignitaries.