The senator repressing Abia South Senatorial District in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, Eyinaya Abaribe, is of the view that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has reversed gains the country made in 30 years under previous administrations.
He made this know as a guest of a programme on Arise Television this morning, while responding to several questions on socio-political and economic issues in the country.Advertisement
The Senate Minority Leader said the recent crisis in the South-East seem to have been caused by external actors, because IPOB, that is being accused by the security agencies has since called off it’s sit-at-home order and therefore, could not have been the one enforcing it.
He further stated that the violence was an attempt to introduce a culture that is alien to the Igbos, as it is not in their character to kill.
When asked to comment on resolution of the 17 southern governors on the issues of VAT, anti-open grazing, insecurity and power rotation, the former deputy governor of Abia State, opined that they were within their rights to make such resolutions.
He specifically mentioned that VAT is not on the exclusive list in the constitution and therefore does not fall within the purview of the federal government.
He advised the federal government to call a meeting of state Attorneys-General to trash out the VAT issue rather than allow it to get messy.
On the recent defection of a former PDP chieftain, Femi Fani-Kayode, to the APC, Abaribe said Fani-Kayode acted true to character.
He, however, said the defections will not adversely affect PDP’s fortunes in the 2023 general election because Nigerians know where they were before the current government assumed power and where they are six years after.
Rather than hound members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) as the government is presently doing, Abaribe said that such an organisation, proscribed or otherwise, which enjoys huge followership and sympathy in the South-East and therefore, should be handled with care.
“Any serious government should deal with IPOB cautiously, especially considering the level of diversity that exists in the country.”
He noted that while bandits, who have acquired capacity to bring down a fighter jet, are yet to be labeled terrorists and are constantly engaged in dialogue, a lesser evil such as IPOB has been designated a terrorist group, that cannot be meaningfully engaged in dialogue.
He cautioned that Buhari may go down in history as the man who led the country into disintegration if he does not handle the fragile situation in the South-East region with utmost care and stop the double standard.
Asked if he is interested in running for the presidency and the seeming lull in the clamour for a Nigerian Presidency of Igbo extraction, Abaribe said the two main political parties were still deliberating on the modalities for choosing their presidential candidates.
“It is only when that is done that Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Igbo apex socio-cultural organization and other Igbo leaders will make their stance on the matter known.”
But asked if he was interested in the race, he said he is capable of doing a far better job than the current president.
Finally, when asked if he agreed with Senator Ali Ndume that continuous borrowing by the federal government is detrimental to the nation, he agreed.
According to him, Nigeria is presently servicing existing debt with about 98 per cent of her revenue.
“Where then are we going to get the money to service more loans?”
He concluded that borrowing more, even when we know that we don’t have the capacity to pay, defies logic.
