Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Wednesday stated that President Bola Tinubu desires a vibrant opposition in Nigeria, emphasizing that the President is disheartened by the current disunity within opposition parties.
Speaking at the commissioning of the new Interchange Bridge of Arterial Road N20 (Wole Soyinka Way) over the Outer Northern Expressway (Murtala Mohammed Expressway) in Abuja — a project marking Tinubu’s second year in office — Akpabio represented the President at the event.
Akpabio’s comments followed earlier criticisms by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who had lambasted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership for visiting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the internal dispute concerning the party’s National Secretary.
Addressing the PDP’s ongoing crisis, Akpabio urged the party to resolve its internal rifts quickly, noting that a strong opposition is crucial for Nigeria’s democracy.
“You people got yourself into this confusion, try and get yourself out of it very quickly. Tinubu is very interested in seeing a vibrant opposition. It saddens him when he sees the way the opposition in Nigeria is in disarray,” Akpabio said. “As a true democrat, he will like to see a very vibrant opposition in the country.”
Akpabio also took a jab at the Labour Party (LP), which is grappling with its own leadership challenges. He questioned how a party struggling to manage internal affairs could aspire to govern the country.
“Before I came here to represent him, I received and read a letter from the Labour Party, so it’s not only the PDP that is in disarray. Even the Labour Party is cracked, and people who are strong members of the LP are trying to run Nigeria when they can’t put a small political party like that in order.”
He disclosed that Senator Neda Imasuen had defected from the Labour Party to the All Progressives Congress (APC) earlier in the day.
“Senator Imasuen just decamped this afternoon from the Labour Party, moved from the left hand side to the right hand side. I’m not tired, I’m happy to receive them because our doors are open in the APC,” Akpabio said. “So congratulations to Imasuen who has decided to leave the fractured LP to join the APC.”
