Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan
This is a disclaimer. Last week, the federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) filed a suit before the Federal High Court on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria against Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
In the criminal suit, Fagbemi accused the senator of laying false accusations against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Alhaji Yaya Bello. On behalf of Nigerians, Fagbemi want Akpoti-Uduaghan convicted of criminal charges.
Let it be known that I was not consulted before the nation’s chief law officer opted to spend our national patrimony to pay lawyers to defend Akpabio and Bello. As a former governor who receives huge pension from his Akwa Ibom state, Akpabio has more than enough resources to hire first rate lawyers to pursue criminal conviction of Akpoti-Uduaghan.
For Bello, he still has unrestrained access to Kogi’s treasury having planted a successor who gleefully told his people that when his instructions are contrary to that of Bello, his godfather, they should jettison his. I do not understand how the injuries Akpabio and Bello purportedly suffered from Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations that Fagbemi has to use public resources to seek his definition of justice for the duo.
It is rather insulting that Nigerians’ names and resources are being used to prop up the reputation of the Senate President and the former Kogi governor.
At the peak of the #EndBadGovernance protests of August 2024, Akpabio derided Nigerians for complaining of the hard times. Speaking at an event organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Port Harcourt when the protests had spread nationwide, Akpabio mocked Nigerians protesting the nightmarish and harrowing hardship and hunger. “Those who want to protest can protest, but let us be here eating,” he had said derisively. Amnesty International condemned his classification of the protests against the backdrop of what the BBC called the “worst economic crisis in a generation” as insensitive and reckless. Indeed, Akpabio has been eating way beyond the capacity of his digestive system to process.
It was a daring mockery of the people which is not a surprise because he owes the people nothing and cannot credit them with his coming to the Senate. Having pulled out of the presidential primaries he initially signed up for when he stepped down for then candidate Bola Tinubu, that would have been the end of the road for him under the provisions of the Electoral Act. He did not just get to become a senator but its president. He owes that amazing change in fortune to his political godfathers and the judiciary that somehow ambushed the rules of the game. He had no cause to sympathise with the people who could not cope with the prevailing excruciating economic situation. The few who had the privilege of getting crumbs from his table were told to ‘eat’ while they can.
For Yahaya Bello who came as a young man, he ended up a bad poster boy for the not-too-young-to-run campaign under the Muhammadu Buhari administration. As governor of Kogi State, he was more in the precincts of Aso Rock Villa where he elected to be a chaperone for Buhari’s son than Lokoja, his state capital. He lived large and did not brook voices that sought to remind him of his primary assignment was to work for the people of the state. There are tales of how he never pulled punches in dealing with his political enemies. Even out of office, he remains untouchable. The EFCC can attest to that. Despite the anti-graft agency’s attempt to make him account for his stewardship, they played the ostrich. The pretence eventually ended and Bello even wanted to join his colleagues in the red chamber of the National Assembly after the dubious and aborted recall of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Akpabio and Bello are two misfits of democracy that have dedicated their political lives to living off the people. Why does Fagbemi want to insult Nigerians by spending public funds in a frivolous suit? They have the right to take Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to the Supreme Court if they so wish and they can afford it. But using Nigerians’ collective names and resources to seek judicial refuge for Akpabio and Bello is demeaning to the psyche of the people. They no longer enjoy immunity under the constitution and are just like every other private citizen. No Nigerian was defamed by Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations against the two men. It is up to them to challenge her allegations in the court.
One more thing for Fagbemi to note. The Kogi Central senator is married to a Deltan. In Delta State, we respect and protect our women – mothers, sisters, wives and daughters. The Delta wife has not hurt, defamed or insulted her husband’s people. On the contrary, we are proud of her. That does not reckon with Nigerians’ perception of her which is enchanting.
Using public funds to pay the legal fees for Akpabio and Bello is unacceptable. It is fraudulent to embark on this insulting venture with my name and those of other Nigerians. My share of the national cake should not be used to defend these men I consider misfits of democratic governance. I object to this fraud as a member of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Mind you, I did not say MFR.
