Over the weekend, fresh details emerged on the agitation of some senators against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. The disaffection regarding committee appointments was only diversionary.
It was reliably gathered that the senators’ real angst is their suspicion of the Senate President’s inability to checkmate what some northern senators call the Yorubanisation of the country’s financial system and economy.
Besides the alleged perception of Akpabio’s lack of capacity to checkmate the purported domination of the Yoruba ethnic nationalities in the financial ecosystem, there is also his alleged refusal to deal with some powerful interest groups, particularly some petrol importers and the electricity distribution companies, on some proposed financial deals bordering on a 40 per cent electricity tariff hike and payment of outstanding money to fuel importers.
Last weekend, Newspaper publications alleged a plot by some unnamed 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 formally come out by presenting Senator Elisha Abbo, APC, Adamawa North as the face of the group.
Senator 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.
The source who spoke based on confidentiality alluded to the appointments at the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Federal Inland Revenue Service, and Customs, among others recently infused with Yoruba leadership. The control of the agencies is besides the appointment of Yoruba Ministers in the financial sector and the blue economy.
“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 senators aim to enthrone a senate president the group believes can checkmate President Bola Tinubu.
In addition to the appointments, the group is also said to be working on behalf of some economic interest groups that believe they were shortchanged after reaching agreements with the president and Akpabio on subsidising 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. However, the fund amounting to N2 trillion has not been so used but instead pushed to palliative intervention.
Another interest group said to have infiltrated the ranks of the dissident senators was some electricity distribution companies, who were said to have also reached an agreement with the presidency and Akpabio for an upward review of 40 per cent of the tariff. That agreement was, however, discounted on the Senate floor by Akpabio.
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.
