Fresh details on the agitation against Senate President Godswill Akpabio emerged at the weekend with the revelation that insinuations about disaffection on committee appointments were only a distraction to fears on apparent incapacity of the Senate President to checkmate what senators are calling President Tinubu’s Yoruba agenda in the county.
Besides the alleged perception of his failure to check the Yoruba agenda in the financial ecosystem given appointments made by Tinubu there is also his alleged betrayal by Akpabio of agreements reached with some powerful interest groups, particularly petrol importers and the electricity distribution companies on some agreed financials.
Newspaper publications had last weekend alleged a plot by some senators against Akpabio alleging lopsided distribution of Grade A committees mainly in favour of his supporters and to the discrimination of those who opposed him during the leadership contest.
While it was gathered that the allegation may have some substance, it has, however, emerged that some rivals of the Senate President may have regrouped using as a reason his apparent failure to check the lopsided appointments by the president in favour of the Yoruba, especially in the financial sector.
Among the senators who are alleged to have regrouped with a mission of standing up to Senator Akpabio are some former governors drawn from the North and at least one from the South-South.
The group has now come out by presenting Senator Elisha Abbo, APC, Adamawa North as the face of the group.
Abbo in newspaper interviews at the weekend accused Akpabio of marginalising his rivals in the leadership contest and their supporters in the distribution of the committee positions.
However, sources within the Abbo group have now revealed that the angst of the group was far more and go beyond the Senate President.
“The main issue is our fear that Akpabio cannot check this Yorubanisation of the financial system that is going on now,” a source within the group revealed at the weekend of the senators’ determination to confront the Yoruba agenda by Tinubu.
The source who spoke on the basis of confidentiality alluded to the appointments at the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Customs, among others that have recently been infused with Yoruba leadership.
“Yes, the reason why you can see that Northerners are mostly involved is that most of those being removed and replaced with Yoruba are northerners,” the source further revealed.
It was further gathered that the aim of the senators is to enthrone a senate president the group believes can checkmate President Tinubu.
Besides the appointments, the group is also said to be working on the behalf of some interest groups in the economy who believe that they were shortchanged after reaching agreements with the president and Akpabio on the payment of subsidy to the petrol importers.
It was gathered that an arrangement had been reached with the presidency that funds generated from the removal of fuel subsidy would be used to settle petrol importers within the first two months of the removal of subsidy. The fund amounting to N2 trillion has, however, not been so used but rather pushed to palliatives.
Another interest group said to have infiltrated into the ranks of the dissident senators were the Electricity Distribution companies who were said to have also reached an agreement with the presidency and Akpabio for an upward review of 40% of tariff. That agreement was, however, discountenanced on the Senate floor by Akpabio but it is not known if Tinubu
Just like those being pushed out in the appointments in the financial sector, Northern business interest groups are believed to be more affected by the decision not to pay the petrol importers.
