Uzodinma fingered as major financier of moves to impeach Akpabio
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Governor Hope Uzodinma
Indications have emerged that Imo State governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma is a major financier and instigator of moves to impeach the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. This is as some Senators continue to insist that the former Akwa-Ibom State governor must give way for another Senator to take over as the Chairman of the National Assembly.
The Senators hinge their opposition to Akpabio’s leadership on his alleged “sycophancy” towards President Bola Tinubu.
According to the Senator from the Northeastern part of Nigeria, Nigerians do not need another rubber-stamp Senate, but a proactive, people-oriented Senate that would play its Constitutional role in ensuring that the people get the right dividends of democracy.
“Senator Akpabio seems to have forgotten that the Senate is the senior chamber of the legislature and the legislature in every democracy is a co-equal arm of government with the executive. Fawning before the executive in order to obtain favours or some protections is not the reason we were elected. Unfortunately, Akpabio and Jibrin do not seem to care about the people, but their personal pockets.” He fumed.
Justifying Uzodimma’s alleged sponsorship of the impeachment process, the second term Senator, whose name we are not mentioning because of the sensitivity of the matter claims that Akpabio’s overt acquiescence to the executive has seriously damaged the usual friendly relationship Senators enjoy with their governors, therefore breeding avoidable bad blood within the ruling APC.
“Yes, I can confirm to you that Uzodimma is throwing a lot of logistical and political support into this impeachment process, because as an alumnus of the Senate, he does not like the way the current Senate is veering towards becoming an appendage of the executive or worse still as some kind of porters to the Lagos cabal. Also, as the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, he is not happy with the way Akpabio has disregarded the governors, especially, during the constitution of the Senate leadership and committees of the Senate. So, he is doing what every good politician would do.”
Sources who wouldn’t want their names in print allege that the Imo State governor had already doled out an initial Two Million dollars to some senators, to begin mobilisation of signatures for the impeachment, “as soon as the Senate reconvenes.”
It will be recalled that Governor Uzodimma was a key financier of another candidate for the Senate Presidency even when President Bola Tinubu had announced his preferred choices for National Assembly leadership. Uzodimma allegedly pumped in millions of dollars in trying to torpedo the choice of the President but had to step back on that when it became obvious that he wasn’t going to make any headway. He played to the gallery few days to the inauguration of the National Assembly because he couldn’t have his way in installing his preferred candidates both at the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The Imo governor was also behind a statement by the former National Chairman of the Party, Abdullahi Adamu, disowning the Senate and House of Representatives leadership following the appointment of principal officers of both chambers.
The Senate is set to reconvene next week, and Nigerians are anxious to see how this drama plays out.
