Senate President Godswill Akpabio has attributed the rising insecurity in the country to the forthcoming general election.
Nigerians are expected to head to the polls in January 2027 to elect their leaders, with President Bola Tinubu seeking re-election for a second term.
However, insecurity has been rising across the country as terrorists and bandits launch attacks in several states.
On Saturday, a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) airstrike targeting Boko Haram insurgents hit Jilli market in Yobe State, near the Borno State border, killing over 40 civilians, including children.
Speaking on Tuesday at the inauguration of the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) corporate headquarters in Abuja, Akpabio said insecurity in the country would subside shortly after the elections.
“You are seeing insecurity today; it’s even increasing because the election is coming. As soon as the election is over, watch out for the first two weeks; you won’t hear any bomb blasts because people are sponsoring them to distract you (Tinubu),” Akpabio said.
The senate president dismissed claims by opposition parties that Nigeria is drifting towards a one-party state, accusing them of lacking structure and internal cohesion.
He also claimed that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) continues to attract governors across the country due to Tinubu’s achievements.
“They don’t know what else to do; they say this man is too good in many areas. The government is attracted to him because he is taking very good care of the states,” he said.
“Initially, it was less than 18 governors. Today, we have almost 32 governors under his fold out of 36 states.”
Akpabio also took a veiled swipe at Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), for saying he could abandon the African Democratic Congress (ADC) if the primaries become transactional.
“So where do we belong? How do you win elections when you don’t know how to structure a party? No political party today is stable in this country,” he added.
“The opposition is in disarray; someone got six million votes, abandoned the party and the six million votes, and went shopping for another platform — and they are blaming the ruling party.”
He dismissed calls for the resignation of Joash Amupitan as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over an alleged partisan social media post.
Akpabio appealed to Nigerians to remain patient with the current administration.
“Then they change and say, ‘let us attack the people conducting the election,’ and they bring out a tweet saying the chairman of INEC said, ‘victory is sure.’ But he didn’t say victory is sure for APC or PDP, and they claimed it was manipulated,” he said.
“But for me, whether manipulated or not, he said ‘victory is sure.’ He was not the chairman of INEC then. Anybody can support whoever they wish to, but when you are in office, you have to think of the entire country and its populace.
“Let Nigerians be patient with you; you are doing the right thing.
“Dr Zacch Adedeji is the first tax administrator Nigerians love; even in the Bible, people don’t like tax collectors. Zacch has done very well, and Nigerians are happy with him.”
