Stop Meddling, Akpabio Will Not Resign Over Ningi’s Suspension – APC to PDP

The ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) has faulted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for calling on the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, to quit his position over alleged budget padding, warning the party to stop being a meddlesome interloper in the affairs of the National Assembly.

This follows the PDP’s recent call for Akpabio’s resignation to facilitate an independent investigation into allegations of N3.7 trillion budget padding in 2024.

Ningi raised the alarm in an earlier media interview, which eventually culminated in his three-month suspension for what the Senate labelled an unfounded allegation.

However, through its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the PDP expressed support for Ningi and urged the Senate President to resign to facilitate an independent investigation.

Reacting in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja, the APC National Publicity, Felix Morka, described the PDP’s stance on the allegation of budget padding as sheer nonsense, arguing that Akpabio had neither done anything wrong to warrant him stepping aside or reporting to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission on account of Ningi’s allegation.

He said:

“Exactly how is Senator Abdul Ningi’s suspension without first referring the matter to a Senate standing committee proof of a cover-up? How is a committee of the full Senate conducting an inquiry into the matter, in full public view on national television, less independent and transparent or in violation of the Senate’s standing rules or any other laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?

“Contrary to the PDP’s twisted argument, the Senate neither violated its standing rules nor the constitution by not referring the matter to a relevant committee. Rather, placing the matter before the whole committee, under public scrutiny, underscored the premium the senate placed on transparency in its proceedings.”

He further called on the PDP to quit being a “meddlesome interloper” and expend its lean energy on revamping its decrepit institution, stating:

“”t is eerily comical that the PDP, a party with a sordid legacy of monumental corruption, would suggest that the President of the Senate turn himself in to anti-graft agencies for investigation.

“Thi” is the entity that turned graft and corruption into statecrafts, the same entity that cannot account for funds raised for the building of its own national headquarters, making such a ridiculous call. The PDP should lead by example and heed its own call,” “e said, asserting that the Senate’s legislative authority includes the authority to make its own rules and adopt its own procedures for discharging its constitutional mandates.

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