Three Reasons Senator Abdulaziz Yari Should Be the Senate President

For the idealists, I am not comparing Abdulaziz Yari with an angel, rather, I’m comparing him with the alternative. Yari is head and shoulders above the alternative — Senator Godswill Akpabio. We all know who Akpabio is. There’s a skull and crossbones on his candidacy.

Firstly, critics have accused Akpabio of denigrating the institution of the Senate in the past. This should be disqualifying. In March 2022, the Senate Committee on Privileges and Ethics threatened Akpabio with an arrest for undermining and disrespecting it. Senator Ayo, the Chairman of the Committee criticised the bad behaviour of Akpabio. He said,  as “a Senator and former colleague”, Akpabio “ought not to disrespect the Senate in the manner he is doing.” (Daily Post 30 March 2022)

It’s not only the Senate, the distinguished gentleman seems to have problems with being respectful. He disrespected the government and governor of his home state of Akwa Ibom. If you need proof, check this: “Akpabio under fire for disrespecting Akwa Ibom governor” a headline in Premium Times of 3 January 2017. Thus, can he be trusted with respecting Senators and the Senate? I doubt. But Senator Yari has no such problem.  

Secondly, there’s an allegation of workplace harassment levelled against Akpabio. Ms Joy Nunieh had accused him of sexual harassment. (Premium Times 13 July 2020) Nunieh was the acting MD of NDDC working under Akpabio when he was the minister of Niger Delta. Now, there are many women in the Senate including a handful of female senators who would be required to work closely with the Senate President. Would these ladies be comfortable working with a person accused of sexual harassment? We should err on the side of caution to protect our sisters and mothers.

Thirdly, there’s the North and South dichotomy. This divide serves as the basis for sharing power. The North ceded power to Tinubu partly on that basis. So, since the president, head of the executive, is from the South it’s only logical and just and fair that the head of the legislature shall come from the North. More so that the head of the third branch of government, the judiciary, happens to be headed by a Southerner, like the president. All three branches of government can’t be controlled by one side of the divide. There must be balance. It is the definition of federal character.

More importantly, the Senate is created, constitutionally, to check and oversight the executive and hold the president to account. It needs to be independent. If Akpabio is handpicked by the President, who is supposed to be checked by him, then there is a big problem and should be of concern to everyone. Do we need an independent legislature or a rubber stamp?

The president has enormous powers. Fortunately or unfortunately, we have a president who is one of the most powerful men in Nigeria even before he became the president. You can imagine what becomes of him if he were to handpick the head of the legislature. No one man should be allowed to have too much power.  Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, right?

The thought of this frightens me given the first major actions taken by the President: the removal of petrol subsidy and Naira devaluation – two very consequential actions. This is despite given his words in Ogun that he will bring down the price of petrol: “They said fuel will be expensive — will be N200, N500. Put your mind at rest, we will bring it down”, Tinubu said. (Leadership January 25, 2023) The president did it alone. He had no cabinet, no aides and no deliberations with stakeholders, especially the labour. Will his handpicked candidate rein in his excesses? He can’t bite the finger that fed him. Can he?

We can no longer take the president’s words for it, hence we need an independent Senate President who owes his allegiance to the people and can hold the president to account. Akpabio can’t be reasonably expected to go against his appointor.

 Lastly, Akpabio has too much baggage. He lacks the character, skills, personality and temperament to lead the Senate. The president should withdraw his endorsement and support Senator Yari. Yari is the best candidate for the job.

- Advertisements -

Saad, a lawyer, is the former Director-General of BASEPA.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Most Read

Latest stories

Signup To WikkiTimes Newsletter