2023: Reflecting, trying to fault Senator Abaribe’s stand on APC’s Igbo presidency
On Monday night, November 25, 2019, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP Abia State), Minority Leader in the Senate was a guest of Ladi Akeredolu-Ale on Channels TV’s interview programme.
When asked his thoughts on South-East producing the President from the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) come 2023, he presented a rather chilling but hard to believe fact sheet.
To start with, the vociferous lawmaker averred that “I have a very simple answer to that: If somebody cannot let you be his gate-man, how is he gonna give you the keys to his house to come and live in the house?
“And I have just pointed out to you: Show me that one person {from the south-east} in this present government of APC, apart from statuary people – statutory, like ministers. Of course, you must appoint ministers, because that’s what the constitution says, but apart from them, tell me which other person from the south-east that is in this government?
”…They don’t allow anybody from the south-east get near, and then they will tell the south-easterner that they will get there {the President in 2023}! How are you gonna get there?
“And I will continue to reiterate to the people in APC, if you don’t let me be your gate-man, how you can give the key to your house, because if you want me to be the President, that means you are going to bring me in; I am going to be part of what you do. I am going to have a role in your government.
“And {what happens now} is, if you are a minister, you don’t see the President unless you go through the Chief of Staff. Is that not what we are told? Or, you have to write your memo and it goes through the Secretary to the Government.
“So, where do you get in? Where? Yet we have two people: We have former Senate Presidents and all that, who are part of APC, but are nowhere to be found…And they tell you, ‘don’t worry. In four years we are going to give you the seat of government.’
Senator Abaribe queried “How would you believe them? {If you believe them}, that means you are not thinking!
According to him, “Those of us who have seen all these, it does not matter what you tell us, what we are saying is that it does not really matter what you are saying…we want that we do devolution of powers, we change revenue formula – ensuring that the criteria are changed, so that population plays a part..”
