Arise Television Morning Show anchor, Rufai Oseni, has explained why Senate President Godswill Akpabio rejected being addressed as Nigeria’s acting president while President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima were away from the country.
Oseni said Akpabio’s insistence that he was not the acting president showed that he was unwilling to assert the powers of the National Assembly as a co-equal arm of government.
He spoke on Monday while analysing the extended stay of President Tinubu’s stay out of the country.
According to Oseni, Nigerians should not expect the National Assembly to challenge the President effectively, given its previous support for the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
Oseni questioned whether Akpabio could effectively lead the National Assembly in challenging the executive, arguing that the legislature was constitutionally intended to operate as a co-equal arm of government.
“So, if you think that this National Assembly will speak up and fight for you. It’s either you’re delusional, or you don’t read the news.
“You’re talking about the National Assembly standing up to challenge the president. Is it not the same National Assembly that endorsed a state of emergency to settle a political squabble in a state, Rivers State in the country?
“A political godfather and godson were fighting, the president looked first the option, state of emergency, and it should be on record. The same National Assembly endorsed it. How did they endorse it? Voice votes.
“Is it Mr. Akpabio that was busy going about to even exonerate himself to say ‘I’m not the acting president. Don’t call me acting president.’
“This was because while President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima were away, some of the political surrogates of Akpabio were already calling him acting president.
“So he needed to exonerate himself, and you know what that means.
“He was already causing problems. The top echelon, they had already started looking at acting presidents. So he had to quickly clarify that.
“So you think it is that same man that will effectively lead a co-equal arm of government?
“You see, we forget that they are supposed to be a co-equal arm of governments.
“I’m sure people that wrote about these things, the Montesquieus of this world that wrote about the separation of power, they will turn in their grave when they see the way it’s being done in Nigeria,” Oseni said.
