Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe [APGA, Aba South Senatorial District] has said that considering the good works of the government of Abia State across the state, he sees no obstacle to Governor Alex Otti‘s second term in office.
Senator Abaribe, popularly called Nma-Agha Ndigbo (The Sword of the Igbos), also expressed optimism that President Bola Tinubu will release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The senator made these comments at a Christmas and New Year courtesy visit to Governor Otti on Sunday January 5, 2025.
Otti Deserves Second Term
Speaking to the press after meeting with the Governor, Senator Abaribe said, “Even though my party is APGA and his (Gov Otti) party is Labour, we feel that we have gone beyond party and are now at the point of Governance. So, I came to encourage him. He’s done so well, and we wanted to ensure that we continue to inspire him to do much more for the people of Abia.
Speaking further on Governor Otti’s performance, Senator Abaribe said, “Let me say this, I come from Aba; he has done tremendously well in Infrastructure, the whole infrastructure in Aba. I have driven around, I have seen everything. All I want to do is to continue to encourage him to continue in the path that he has chosen. We also agreed that we are going to come around to commission some of the projects that he has done in and around my Senatorial Zone“.
“I think Second Tenure is still very far away but I do not see any stumbling block on the way if we go by what he has done at this point“, Senator Abaribe declared.
Tinubu Appreciated
Senator Abaribe, also the Chairman of the caucus of South East Senators, said he and the governor spent a lot of time discussing governance issues in the State and what they at the National Assembly could do to help the Governor achieve more for the State. They also discussed matters concerning the South East, including President Tinubu’s proposed tax reforms, which he said he would relate to his colleagues when he gets back to Abuja and see how they would help the South East.
Senator Abaribe said that their concern is the development of the South East and to ensure that the South East is not left behind while the rest of Nigeria is moving on. He commended President Tinubu for promising to do the rail lines and other infrastructure within the South East during his visit to Enugu State over the weekend to commission projects.
Release of Nnamdi Kanu
On the release of Nnamdi Kanu, Senator Abaribe described President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, as a listening leader. He expressed the hope that he would heed the advice of the Attorney General of the Federation and others who advised and appealed for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s release.
“I expect that the President will listen to both his Attorney General and every one of us who have been agitating that the issues in the South East; first of all the insurgency, the sit at home on Mondays and every other thing we have noticed in the South East, what we now know in the South East is that criminals and all other people who advocate violence have taken over and using the name Nnamdi Kanu to perpetuate all these their despicable acts“.
“We know that the President, being a listening President, will also look at all the issues involved which we have presented to him from various mediums, that he will do the needful and release Nnamdi Kanu so that it will put a stop to all these things that are happening in the South East and bring back the South East as the hub of production in Nigeria.“
“The President wants to pass a tax bill that has to do with production. You cannot tax people who don’t produce. So he needs Nnamdi Kanu out so that all those things that are holding us down in the South East, that have made us not to produce as much as we ought to produce, will not be there“.
“So, we continue to call on President Tinubu to release Nnamdi Kanu and we are ready and willing to be guarantors for him to be released so that we can have life coming back into the South East and take it away from the criminals, kidnappers, the cultists and dangerous elements that are floating around us who have made it a point that they would perpetrate violence, do criminal activities and use Nnamdi Kanu’s name as their reason“, Senator Abiriba Stated.
Senator Abaribe questioned why people would be killing people they claim to be agitating on their behalf, stressing that it is not the proper way to agitate.
More Consultation on Tax Reform Bills
On President Tinubu’s Tax Reform bill before the National Assembly, Senator Abaribe said, “We have a position of the South East that we will have to continue to negotiate and debate and that we do not want it to be passed in a hurry because it will affect future generations.“
“The South East Senators Forum took a position just like the Governors and other people to do further negotiations and so, we believe that we are going to do this further negotiations“, Senator Abaribe concluded.
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