The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has made U-turn and apologised to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum over his comment on the N30bn allowance allegedly given to them to cushion the effect of inflation in food prices.
This was coming after the Senate President held a meeting with the NGF Chairman, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and some of his counterparts in Abuja yesterday.
Akpabio had, at a plenary sitting last Tuesday, 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.
The statement has generated controversies in the public space, with some commentators asking governors to come clean about the money they did not collect.
However, on Monday, Akpabio in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Eseme Eyiboh, retracted the statement, saying the SP held the governors in high esteem.
The statement reads below:
“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.”
