The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has apologised to the state governors over his comment on the N30bn hardship allowance allegedly given to them.
Akpabio had, at a plenary sitting last Tuesday, during deliberation on the Ways and Means collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria by the previous administration, said an “unverified report” indicated that state governors received N30bn each from the Federation Account to cushion the effect of inflation and the high cost of food prices.
Last September, the Federal Government said N2bn was released to governors out of the N5bn loan it offered to each state as a palliative to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy.
In response to the Senate President, some governors, like Seyi Makinde of Oyo State refuted the claim.
Makinde said, “This is not the time to play politics, as we have real issues that deserve real solutions. But yesterday, I saw the video and read in the news where the Senate President, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, made a statement, though he said it was an unverified report, stating that the state governments received an additional N30bn from the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, outside of our statutory allocation, in the last few months, to address food security.
“Please, listen to me loud and clear. I can speak for Oyo State and can also speak for any of my colleagues. This is because, as the Vice Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, I know when things are happening.”
Apologising to the governor on Monday evening, Akpabio in a statement by his media adviser, Eseme Eyiboh, said he held the governors in high esteem.
He said, “The Office of the President of the Senate has been drawn to various misconceptions in the public domain on the statement credited to the President of the Senate in the plenary of Wednesday, February 21, 2024, during the presentation of a report of the joint Committees on Finance, Agriculture/Food Sufficiency, Banking and Insurance.
“During the session, the President of the Senate commented on the payment of an unverified cumulative sum of about N30bn to the sub-national governments by the Federal Government for various interventions to ameliorate the food situation of our citizens at the sub-national governments.
“The unfortunate conjectures to take away the kernel in the material facts of FAAC payment are rather regretted. In considering the well-intended motive of urging state governments to collaborate with the Federal government of President Bola Tinubu to facilitate strategic interventions to mitigate the prevailing economic situation in the country remains the underpinning motivation in the comment.
“The President of the Senate is not oblivious to the fact that state governments are functional partners in all the efforts of the current administration of President Bola Tinubu and are also valuable stakeholders’ in the various legislative engagements of the legislature in creating the nexus between the legislature and the people.”
Eyiboh added that Akpabio has always demonstrated commitment to team building and shall not do less in the circumstance.
He, therefore, urged the sub-national governments not to be distracted by any misunderstanding of the context and true meaning of the statement.
He added, “The President of the Senate recognises and appreciates the current efforts of the governors at ameliorating the adverse effects of the current inclement socio-economic environment and therefore invites more hands on the plow to complement the renewed hope agenda.” (Punch)
