Senator Akpabio: what’s the real worth of a political office?

By ETIM ETIM

A dilapidated federal road, 83 kilometres long, which connects Akwa Ibom with Cross River State, has become a source of embarrassment to the Senate President. Constructed in 1875, the road has been in a terrible state of disrepair in the last 25 years, forcing the peoples of the two states to resort to water transportation – long discarded since the 1970s – as a mode of transport. Last week, the Senate passed a motion calling for the inclusion of the road in the 2025 Appropriation Bill with adequate budgetary provision. It was sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong from Cross River South and co-sponsored by Senator Ekong Sampson, from Akwa Ibom South. On the same day, the House of Representatives passed a similar motion and went further to direct its Committees on Public Procurement and Works to investigate the abandonment of the contract for the reconstruction of the road which was awarded to three construction firms – Julius Berger; Sermatec and CCEC – by the Buhari administration five years ago. The motion in the House was moved by Mr. Unyime Idem, from Akwa Ibom State.

‘’The Senate President spoke passionately during the debate on the motion, telling us about all his previous efforts in getting the road fixed and how he had spoken with the relevant government officials and agencies about the road; yet nothing was done’’, Senator Sampson told me. He stressed that the Senate President was very concerned about the state of the road which is the only land connection between the two states. Ezsentially, the Senate President was lamenting in frustration to his colleagues that all his efforts to get the road completed were to no avail. ‘’On my part’’, Senator Sampson continued, ‘’I explained to the Senate that completing the reconstruction of the road would be a big relief to our people, and a source of pride to the Senate President in particular and the Senate as a whole’’. In other words, Akpabio’s reputation as the Political leader of the South-South geopolitical zone and the nation’s third most important political leader is, in a way, linked to his ability to get the Federal Ministry of Works to deliver on this all important highway. He deserves to be treated with some respect like his predecessors. Many in Akwa Ibom are perplexed that Akpabio is lamenting and bemoaning about the poor conditions of a federal road in his constituency when he is supposed to be a very influential ally of President Tinubu.

In public, Senator Akpabio cuts the picture of a big fan President Tinubu; a loyal associate of the administration and an unapologetic defender of all of the government’s unpopular policies. He even goes beyond the normal course of duty to fawn over the First Family. Recently, he was said to have represented the president’s wife at a function during the last National Day celebrations. I had noted then that it was not proper, as far as the principle of separation of power is concerned for the Senate President to represent the President, talk less of his wife, at events. But the man could care less. Akpabio will go to any extent to publicly display his faithfulness to the President, sometimes acting in a manner, to the discomfiture of some senators, which blurs the line separating the two branches. Yet, despite his fawning adoration for all things Tinubu, why does the Senate President now have to beg for a federal road in his constituency to be repaid? Why is he lamenting, complaining and even voicing out his frustrations about the road and how his efforts have come to nothing? What is the value of his loyalty and what is the worth of the high office he occupies if the Minister of Works, for example, is not sympathetic to him? This same Minister of Works, Engr David Umahi, was the chairman of Akpabio’s campaign committee when he was running for senate presidency. Why is the senate President begging Umahi now?

Since 1999, no President or any minister messes with the Senate President. Previous occupants of the office were highly regarded by the executive branch. In his eight years as Senate President, David Mark (2007-2015) commanded attention and respect of his colleagues in the chamber and those of the ministers and the President. President Jonathan held David Mark in awe and admiration. It was therefore not a surprise that President Jonathan was all too happy to take care of many federal roads in and around Benue, Marks’s home state. President Buhari respected and loved Senator Ahmed Lawan to a fault (It is no longer a secret that Buhari actually preferred Lawan as his successor). The President also ensured that all federal roads in Yobe in particular and North East in general were in good condition. Yobe is the home state of Senator Lawan.

On July 17, 2021, Lawan specifically thanked President Buhari for considering Yobe State for federal projects. Speaking at the construction site of Gasamu-Gogaram Road in Jakusko LGA, Lawan described the project as a major infrastructure that would enhance the development of the area. Lawan listed many other projects the Buhari administration was executing in his state (Punch newspaper, 18th July 2021). Among the roads reconstructed in Benue State and other projects executed in the State by the Jonathan administration was the Oturkpo-Oweto Road (section 1) which passes through Senator Marks’s community. So, why is the Tinubu team treating Akpabio less elegantly, as if he is a lesser Senate President?

As I have said before, Akwa Ibom people and their government have so much expectation of the Senate President’s high office. They think that he can swing things for them. There are no fewer than five federal roads leading in and out of Akwa Ibom State; and they’re all in a very poor shape. There’s the Ibom Deep Sea Port project on which we expect federal support through Akpabio’s facilitation. It would is therefore a major heartbreak if our revered Senate President is wringing his hands in lamentation over a mere 83 kilometers of road. Who will help us?