Nigeria Surpasses America In Producing Former Senators As President And Vice President, Says Akpabio
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Wednesday praised Nigeria for achieving a remarkable feat in its democracy, by having two former senators as the President and Vice President of the country.
Akpabio made this remark during the presentation of the 2024 budget by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the joint session of the National Assembly. He commended Tinubu, who was once a senator before becoming the President, a feat he said took America several years to accomplish.
He said: “Mr President, they say that the eagle may soar high, but its claws always point to the ground. Your Excellency, we know that no matter how high you soar, your heart will always point to this Assembly.
“Mr President, the United States has been a democracy for 247 years. But it was only after 185 years of its democracy that it succeeded in having two former senators (J F Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson) as President and Vice President respectively.
“But in just 24 years of our democracy, we have done what took USA 185 years to do. Not only do we have two former Distinguished Senators serving as the President and Vice President of our dear country; but we also have other alumni of this Assembly in positions of public trust: Secretary to the Federal Government, Senator George Akume; the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, and other Senators in the Cabinet.”
Akpabio also spoke on the cordial relationship with the executive, saying, “Mr. President, Distinguished and Honorable Members, maintaining a cordial relationship with the Executive Arm has always been a requirement of the law, but now, given that our Old Boys now run the Executive, a good relationship with the executive is a necessity.
“Never have we had so many bridges and connection points between these two arms of Government. So we will continue to walk hand in hand and see eye to eye with the Executive Arm while ensuring that the principles of separation of powers as well as checks and balances as enshrined in our Constitution are observed in the overriding public interest.”
