Ijaw Leader and Convener of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, has appealed to Senators who will be voting on Tuesday to elect Senator Godswill Akpabio as President of the 10th Senate.
The elder statesman made the appeal at the weekend when the Senators-elect and members of the Stability Group, the forum promoting the aspiration of Senator-elect for Akwa-Ibom North West for leadership of the Senate paid him a visit at his Asokoro residence in Abuja.
Chief Clark who recalled the single faith ticket that produced Tinubu and Shettima as President and Vice president, respectively also noted that the Chief Justice of Nigeria is also a Muslim.
In an apparent reference to Senator Akpabio’s main rival for the exalted seat, Abdul Aziz Yari, Chief Clark maintained that it would not be proper to vote for another Muslim as President of the Senate.
He said: “The North cannot do it alone. And we, the South cannot do it alone. We should be equal partners. If all the positions are taken by Muslims, then we don’t have a country and the division continues.
“The President of Nigeria is a Muslim. The Vice President of Nigeria is a Muslim. The Chief Justice of Nigeria is a Muslim. The Chief of Staff to the President is a Muslim. The Speaker of the House of Representatives they are going to elect is a Muslim. So what kind of country are we going to have?
“It is time to heal our land and in doing so, what I expect of the 10th Senate to do is to give the position of the Senate President to a Christian Senator from the South-South.
“Therefore, the President of the Senate should be supported to emerge from the South-South. A South-South Senator, who is a Christian. So I am happy you are here and you have my blessings to become the next Senate President.”
In his response, Senator Akpabio who incidentally was the immediate past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs assured the leader of the Ijaw Nation that if elected, he would use his good offices as Senate President to secure a better deal for the Niger Delta region.
“One of the problems we have in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is revenue generation. The law says the oil companies should pay three per cent of their yearly budget to the Commission, unfortunately, there was no sanction. So the three per cent is just there. If you don’t pay, what happens? Nothing.
“So as it is, we have to beg the oil companies before they can comply with the law. As of now, the oil companies are owing the NDDC $ 5.6bn in the last 20 years. The National Assembly can take steps to enforce the law because the goose that lays the golden eggs deserves some kind of reward.”
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