Tinubu endorses Akpabio as Senate President, consultation ongoing for Speaker – Newstrends
Connect with us

News

Tinubu endorses Akpabio as Senate President, consultation ongoing for Speaker

Published

on

Tinubu endorses Akpabio as Senate President, consultation ongoing for Speaker

Former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has received the blessing of president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the next president of the Senate.

Multiple sources were quoted by Daily Trust in a new report Tinubu’s endorsement of the South-South senator to lead the Senate had already been communicated to Akpabio.

Tinubu was also said to have approved Senator Jibrin Barau as deputy senate president.

Akpabio and Barau are among the nine contenders for the Senate presidency of the 10th assembly, expected to be inaugurated on June 13.

The president-elect, who returned to the country on Monday after 34 days abroad, communicated his decision to Akpabio and Barau during a meeting held in Abuja.

Tinubu on Tuesday met with Akpabio, Barau, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti) and the Ekiti State governor, Biodun Oyebanji.

Sources said during the meeting at the instance of the president-elect Barau was asked to drop his bid for the Senate presidency in the interest of national cohesion, fairness and religious balancing.

A lawmaker from the South said Barau was prevailed upon to sacrifice his ambition in the interest of peace and tranquility in the country.
“He was told to drop his ambition for the emergence of a Christian as the president of the next Senate.
The president-elect told Barau that he is extremely qualified for the job but that he should drop his ambition for the emergence of a Christian to enable his administration to commence on a good footing.

“He said since he (Tinubu) and Senator Kashim Shettima (the vice president-elect) are Muslims, the right thing to do is to support a Christian.

“It was after the pleas that the president-elect told Barau that he would want him to work with Akpabio as deputy Senate president,” the senator said, pleading not to be named.

Corroborating this, another source, a member of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said the president-elect had contacted Akpabio and Barau on his decision to pair them for the Senate presidency.

“I was not there when the meeting was held, but two people who attended it have told me of the decision by Asiwaju. It is a fact that he has settled for Akpabio and Barau for the Senate president and deputy,” he said.

An ally of Tinubu from the North had previously told a Daily Trust correspondent of the preference of Tinubu for Akpabio.

When contacted yesterday, Akpabio simply said, “I don’t know.” However, Barau could not be reached last night.

Daily Trust reports that aside from Akpabio and Barau, seven other senators have indicated interest in the Senate presidency including Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North); Abdul-Aziz Yari (APC, Zamfara West); Sani Musa (Niger East); Ali Ndume (Borno South), Osita Izunaso (Imo West), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi South) and Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North).

Efforts to get the reactions of Sen Kalu, Sen Ndume and Sen Musa yielded no results as they were unreachable via phones. A report claiming that Tinubu had endorsed Kalu for the Senate presidency went viral on social media last night.

Asiwaju to convey decision on Akpabio, Barau to NWC, other contenders

It was gathered that the president-elect would meet other contenders for the Senate presidency to formally inform them of the decision on Akpabio and Barau soon. After that, Tinubu would also meet all the senators-elect who are members of the APC in furtherance of the consultation.

It could be recalled that at a meeting on Wednesday, which had in attendance the president-elect, the vice president-elect, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, and the leadership of the APC led by Senator Abdullahi Adamu, it was resolved that Tinubu anchors the efforts of identifying and selecting the leadership of the National Assembly.

Daily Trust reports that in the 109-seat Senate, the APC has 59 senators, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 36; Labour Party (LP) eight, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) two, Social Democratic Party (SDP) two, Young Progressives Party (YPP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) one seat each.

Akpabio and Barau require a simple majority of votes to clinch the two positions when the parliament is inaugurated in June after the transmission of a letter of proclamation by the president to the Clerk of the National Assembly.

North can’t be second fiddle – former governor

But an influential former governor faulted the decision of the president-elect to settle for Akpabio for religious balancing.

In an interview, the former governor, said, “Yes, there is a need for sacrifice, but the North should not be second fiddle because of the need to placate some people who contributed almost nothing to the table.

“If there is something called sacrifice, it should go across the board; all the zones should be made to do the same,” he said.

“After sacrificing the presidency to promote national unity and peace, now they want to treat us as second fiddle. We won’t take this. We have made the first sacrifice. Let other regions do the same. The North gave Tinubu the party ticket and gave him the winning votes, so it is the turn of other zones to make sacrifices,” the former governor said.

When told that the president-elect had consulted Senator Barau, he said, “Who told Barau that he should take it? First, he is a lawmaker from Kano State and a northerner. He is the northern candidate and cannot make a decision by himself. It is beyond him.

“We sacrificed the number one position and now they want us to let this go; it won’t happen. Yes, Asiwaju is a primary stakeholder, but there are people who lost their lives for him to win the presidency, especially in the North.”

Consultations ongoing for speaker, deputy

Meanwhile, consultations for the speaker and deputy positions in the House of Representatives are also yet to be concluded.

Ten lawmakers-elect have shown interest in the speaker’s position, including the Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Idris Wase (Plateau); Mukhtar Betara (Borno); Abubakar Makki Yelleman (Jigawa); Yusuf Gagdi (Plateau); Sada Soli Jibia (Katsina); Abdulraheem Olawuyi (Kwara); Abbas Tajudeen (Kaduna), Aminu Sani Jaji (Zamfara), Benjamin Kalu (Abia), and Mariam Odinaka Onuoha (Imo).

In the 360-member House, APC has 175 seats; PDP 118, Labour Party 35, NNPP 19, APGA five, while SDP and ADC have two seats each. YPP has a single seat with three seats still pending.

-Daily Trust, excluding headline and intro

Tinubu endorses Akpabio as Senate President, consultation ongoing for Speaker

News

Ondo SSG Oluwatuyi dies weeks after surviving auto crash

Published

on

Ondo SSG Oluwatuyi dies weeks after surviving auto crash

Secretary to the Ondo State Government, Tayo Oluwatuyi, has died few weeks after he survived an auto crash.

Oluwatuyi, popularly known as ‘Tukana, was said to be receiving treatment in a hospital Akure before he died.

A statement by the Ondo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Wale Akinlosotu, said Oluwatuyi passed away on Saturday.

The statement read, “It is with profound sadness that the Government of Ondo State announces the passing of Hon. Temitayo Oluwatuyi, Secretary to the State Government, on January 4, 2025.

“He was involved in a ghastly car accident on Sunday, 15th December 2024, while travelling to Ibadan and was subsequently hospitalised.

“Hon. Oluwatuyi was a dedicated public servant whose unwavering commitment to administrative coordination, policy advisory, and implementation had a significant impact on Ondo State.

“He served with distinction and played a crucial role in the state government, working closely with the Governor and other top officials of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“Having served the government in various capacities, including as Chairman of Akure South Local Government, Commissioner and twice as SSG, Hon. Oluwatuyi will forever be remembered for his invaluable contributions to the development of Ondo State.

“The Government of Ondo State extends its deepest condolences to the Oluwatuyi family of Akure, friends, and associates during this difficult time.”

Continue Reading

News

Your assessment misleading, APC tackles Obi over socio-economic situations

Published

on

Peter Obi and Felix Morka

Your assessment misleading, APC tackles Obi over socio-economic situations

One-time Anambra State Governor Peter Obi came under a scathing criticism yesterday from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over his assessment of the security and economic situation of the country.

At a news conference, Obi disagreed with the claims of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his New Year Day address which chronicled the feats attained by the APC-led administration.

Obi alleged that the political, economic and security situations in the country have worsened under the incumbent administration.

But the APC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka carpeted Obi, describing his assessment as jaundiced, misleading and an attempt to score cheap political points.

In a statement, Morka put a lie to Obi’s claims.

He noted that Obi’s assessment was at variance with all indicators that showed that the nation’s economy is rebounding in significant measure across all sectors.

Dismissing Obi’s claims, Morka said: “While Nigerians celebrated the New Year with hope for a more glorious 2025, Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State and former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, was seemingly stuck in replay of his jangling, gloom-ridden wish-list for our country.

“Obi’s new year message, in which he claimed that the political, economic and security situation of our dear country is worsening daily, is misleading and appears intended to score cheap political points.

READ ALSO:

“This claim, at a time when all indicators show that our country is rebounding in significant measure across all sectors, casts Obi, squarely, as Nigeria’s leading doomsayer.”

Morka, who reeled out the achievements of the APC-led administration, said: “In reality, 18 months later, the economy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, has showed steady record of progress.”

He listed the landmarks as:

The ruling party further argued: “Despite these and other initial beneficial outcomes of ongoing unprecedented reforms, the administration is doubling its effort to ensuring that the reforms deliver their fullest benefits for the sustainable growth and transformation of our country.”

The ruling party said that the Presidential New Year message acknowledged that the “cost of food and essential drugs remained a significant concern for many Nigerian households. And to reverse this trend, Mr. President assured that his administration was committed to lowering food prices by boosting food production and promoting local production of drugs.”

The party also highlighted Tinubu’s resolve to crash the current inflation rate from 34 per cent to 15 per cent in the course of this fiscal year as a move to addressing the threat inflation poses to the country’s economy.

The statement further reads: “With the vigour in the administration’s war on corruption, evidenced by ongoing investigations and trial of  well-heeled Nigerians, Obi’s pontification on the urgent need to tame corruption is a clear case  of carrying coal to Newcastle.”

Faulting Obi, the party said: “It is a thing of irony that Peter Obi, who now arrogates to himself to be omniscient and philosopher’s stone, when it comes to our nation’s challenges, left no record of significant achievement, let alone transformation of any kind, in his eight-year tenure as Governor of Anambra State.

“Like his co-travellers in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Obi’s obsessive pessimism and endless but futile effort to incite public outrage against the administration is borne out of their realisation that President Tinubu is unwittingly cementing their ultimate political irrelevance by his visionary and full-throttle reform and transformation of the fundamental pillars of our national life.”

Appealing for citizens’ support and patience, the APC spokesman assured Nigerians that “under the banner of the Renewed Hope Agenda (RHA), President Tinubu is dutifully turning our nation’s fortunes around.

“He (Tinubu) deserves the support  and patience of Nigerians in order to consolidate on the deep economic foundation he has laid, and deliver a vibrant, prosperous new Nigeria for the good of all.  We urge Nigerians to remain confident of better days ahead.”

Your assessment misleading, APC tackles Obi over socio-economic situations

Continue Reading

News

Currency in circulation now N4.8tn – CBN report

Published

on

Currency in circulation now N4.8tn – CBN report

Currency in circulation has reached an all-time high of N4.8 trillion as of November 2024, recording over seven per cent increase from the previous month.

Also, currency outside banks grew significantly in the same month hitting an all-time high of N4.6 trillion from the N4.2 trillion in the month of October.

These figures were contained in the money and credit supply data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The currency in circulation is the amount of cash–in the form of paper notes or coins–within a country that is physically used to conduct transactions between consumers and businesses.

It represents the money that has been issued by the country’s monetary authority, minus cash that has been removed from the system.

Similarly, currency outside a bank refers to cash held by individuals, businesses and other entities that is not stored in banks.

The currency outside the bank represents about 96 per cent of the currency in circulation.

Nigerians have in recent times been facing acute cash shortage with banks limiting daily withdrawal at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to N20,000 irrespective of the number of accounts held by an account owner.

READ ALSO:

According to the latest data, the currency in circulation grew by seven per cent to reach 4,878,125.22 from 4,549,217.51 in October.

Currency in circulation has grown steadily in the outgoing year 2024 with over one trillion naira added to cash in circulation after starting the year with N3.65 trillion in January.

In February, the currency in circulation slightly increased to N3.69 trillion representing an increase of N43 billion or 1.18 per cent from the January figure.

March also saw an appreciable increase to N3.87 trillion while it further increased to N3.92 trillion in the following month of April.

The growth trajectory continued in May with the currency in circulation increasing slightly to N3.97 trillion, an increase of N42 billion or 1.07 per cent while it reached an all-time high of 4.04 trillion, an increase of 2.11 per cent from May.

The July figure also rose marginally with the currency in circulation settling for N4.05 trillion before growing to N4.14 trillion in August and N4.43 trillion in September and N4.5 trillion in October.

In the same vein, currency outside banks grew from N4.2 trillion in October to N4.6 trillion in November, showing increasing preference for other means of storing outside bank deposits.

Economist, Dr. Paul Alaje attributed the development to the expanding money supply, adding, “Money supply is expanding but this may not necessarily be in cash. As it is expanding, it will necessarily induce inflation. But you can’t blame the people. People must look for money. How much was bottled water last year, how much is it today? All of this will induce inflation. If you now ask, what is the cause of inflation? Is it money supply itself or a devaluation policy? It is a devaluation policy. Money supply is an offshoot. So the Central Bank is raising interest rates to actually reduce money supply but the more they try the more money supply expands.”

He stated that the floatation policy of the CBN has created inflation, adding, “It is like chasing one’s tail and I don’t know if you are going to catch it.”

Currency in circulation now N4.8tn – CBN report

Continue Reading

Trending