Senator Abbo: Group plans protest at National Assembly

As reactions continue to trail the viral video of Senator Elisha Abbo representing Adamawa North constituency, beating a woman, a group the Coalition of Civil Society Groups, has commended the swiftness with which the Senator apologised for the wrong done while raising questions on the Senate leadership’s silence on cases concerning two other Senators with worst case of moral decadence.

At a press conference addressed on Sunday in Abuja by the President and Secretary-General, Kingsley Nwagwu, and Abubakar Ibrahim, respectively, said Abbo should be commended for tendering apology without been forced or compelled, adding that it is a sign of good leadership quality.

The group said rather than being victimised, he should be emulated by others who would never apologise or show remorsefulness even when caught pant down.

“We have watched with keen interest several comments credited to several commentators on the alleged assault video released by an online platform involving Sen. Elisha Abbo, with most calling him out along partisan basis. This we outrightly condemned as we have long expected a better robust angle to it.

“He swiftly responded to the alleged tape and tendered an open apology on the subject matter without been forced or compelled to do so. This act alone, of accepting the wrongs allegedly said to have been committed without been compelled to is a clear indication that we now have a new set of Nigeria leaders in the new generations of political class coming up now unlike the older generation who has never deemed it fit to apologise nor retract wrongs done at a point in time.

“We thus see this act as a good sense of humour that should be acknowledged and urge others that have afflicted our common heritage at a time to come up and tender a public apology. This no doubt coming from Senator Abbo is a clear example of a new generation of leaders who are not full of themselves nor allow power to intoxicate them,” the group said.

ALSO READ: NANS challenges Buhari on unemployment of Nigerian graduates

The group said the release of the video was suspicious and that it was done to victimise Abbo because of his minority status in the Red Chamber, saying if those threatening to arrest him are genuinely concern, they should also arrest the Governor of Kano State, Ganduje and former deputy speaker of Nasarawa State House of Assembly now a Senator, where he was caught hands down with somebody’s wife.

It, therefore, gave an ultimatum to the Senate leadership to prosecute other Senators with worst moral cases or the group would mobilise other Nigeria youth for a protest to the National Assembly.

“Our findings further reveal that, even though we didn’t support the alleged assault, the rationale behind releasing the said video was suspicious, we discovered also that the lady in question is not even a nursing mother as alleged by the naysayers.

“The worrisome part of it all was that the alleged video was recorded before the inauguration of 9th Assembly but they preferred to wait till now. We are bothered with this, and coupled with swift actions that followed the allegation from the police and Senate to ask pertinent question of why did they ignore the Gov. Ganduje ‘Dollar collection video’?

“Also, a video went viral of a former deputy speaker of Nasarawa State House of Assembly now a Senator, where he was caught hands down with somebody’s wife before their inauguration and up till now nobody has asked the required moral questions, nor asked him to apologise for the wrongs did. What we rather saw was an incessant call for prosecution of Senator Elisha Abbo, while there was criminal silence on others.

“We thus use this press conference as a major stakeholder in our polity to urge the National Assembly, with emphasis on the Senate to set up the same Committee to investigate the former Deputy Speaker, Nasarawa House of Assembly now senator on the released video. We are eager to know why the delayed action on the said video or was it because they belong to different political parties or of a different religion? Senator Omo-Agege and his thugs evaded Red chamber and carted away the mace, he was neither arrested by the police nor did he apologise to Nigerians on the gross misconduct against the symbol of democratic rule but rather he is being rewarded today as the Deputy Senate President. This to us is not equity.

“Thus we expect expedient action on the senator from Nasarawa State or we will be forced to protest to National Assembly for this to be done. What is good for the goose is good for the gander,” it warned.