According to a news that was published by the Leadership paper online this morning, it was reported that a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr. Tom Ohikere, has advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to allow federal legislators to elect their leaders without interference from him.
Dr. Tom Ohikere, who happens to be the publisher of APC online, told some selected journalists in Abuja that, interfering with the selection of principal officers for the 10th National Assembly, will smear the new administration, as he said the interference by the executive arm of government, would portray the legislative arm as a rubber stamp.
According to Dr. Tom Ohikere, he said those alleged to be the anointed candidates of the executive organ of the party, have negative baggage that might tarnish the new administration’s image that is still finding its footings, as he said that the present push for the enthronement of Senator Godswill Akpabio, and Honourable Tajudeen Abbas, was being misinterpreted and misconstrued as a legislature that would not be able to perform its duties accordingly.
He said, “We know that some of the chief contenders for the position of senate president such as Senator Godswill Akpabio, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, and Senator Jibrin Barau, are personalities with less than clean records and it is widely known that, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has been in the radar of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission since the year 2015, when he was arrested and an investigation began into the alleged theft of N108.1 billion of Akwa Ibom State funds.”
He said, “Similarly, in 2021, Akpabio was detained after he attempted to bribe the EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa with $350,000 (about N135 million).”
Dr. Tom Ohikere said that, such a person should not be saddled with the high office of a Senate president and like Senator Godswill Akpabio, the publisher also noted that, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who was the chief whip of the 9th Senate, also comes with his own baggage.
