Former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Kola Ologbondiyan, has accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of stifling opposition voices in the Senate.
Ologbondiyan pointed out that under Akpabio’s leadership, two senators—Abdul Ningi and Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan—had been suspended. He expressed his concerns during an interview on AIT on Saturday.
“The Senate has been mismanaged under the leadership of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. It’s been historic that within a space of less than two years of the Senate, two senators have gone on suspension. It’s historic; Abdul Ningi, and now Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan,” Ologbondiyan said.
He suggested that the move to silence opposition voices could be an effort to appease President Bola Tinubu, who had reportedly promised re-election to certain senators in 2027.
“When you look at it, it shows clearly that, one, the Senate, and I believe so, has not been properly managed. Two, that there’s an attempt to clamp down on the strong voices in the Senate, perhaps in line with the promise that everybody will come back in 2027 by the President of the country, when they went to present their budget,” he added.
The PDP leader lamented the decline of opposition voices and the weakening of democratic institutions under the current administration. He warned that, unless changes occur, Akpabio’s Senate may be remembered for its lack of transparency and integrity.
“So, you find out that we have been put, this nation has been pushed to a situation in which opposition voices are going down. And democratic institutions are somehow being mangled. If you look at the situations that we have had so far, that is the precarious state of our country,” Ologbondiyan said.
He concluded with a call for transparency and integrity within the Senate, hoping it would not be remembered for its shortcomings.
“Let me say this with every, also with every sense of responsibility. I hope the Senate will not go down as a Senate that is lacking in transparency and integrity. I hope the Senate will be,” he said.