*Rallies Senators, Nigerians Against Senate President
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has slammed Senate President Godswill Akpabio, describing him as a “scumbag by every definition and nothing but an Asiwaju lapdog” over proposed amendments to Nigeria’s electoral framework.
Speaking on TrustTV on Wednesday, El-Rufai accused Akpabio of frustrating moves to safeguard the electronic transmission of election results and insisted that the majority of senators would ultimately defy the Senate President, according to a report in Sahara Reporters.
“And Akpabio is nothing but a Asiwaju lapdog. That’s what’s going on,” El-Rufai said during the interview. “And the Senators will have to come together and protest and prevent that from happening when they reconvene.”
The paper reports that the former governor expressed confidence that the conference committee of the National Assembly would recommend the restoration of provisions for real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units.
“So I am confident that the conference committee will recommend restoration,” he said.
“Now it is up to the Senate, well particularly the Senate President, because I think the majority of the Senators also want the same. The majority of the Senators are gentlemen.
“They want Nigeria to move forward. They are distinguished former governors, former ministers and former representatives. They are distinguished people that want to see Nigeria make progress.
“And I think the Senate will overwhelmingly outvote their presiding officer. Because let’s be clear, it is not the Senate here that is the problem. Akpabio, who is a scumbag by every definition, is the problem.”
El-Rufai did not mince words as he doubled down on his criticism of the Senate President, alleging that Akpabio was acting in the interest of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu rather than in the interest of the legislature or Nigerians.
“And Akpabio is nothing but a Asiwaju lapdog. That’s what’s going on. And the Senators will have to come together and protest and prevent that from happening when they reconvene,” he repeated.
When the host interjected, cautioning him about his choice of words and noting that Akpabio might object to being described in such terms, El-Rufai refused to retract his remarks.
El-Rufai responded bluntly: “I do not consider him distinguished. We’ve known each other since the 90s.
“He knows how far we’ve been through. And I think I’m qualified to call him a scumbag and he knows why.”
The former governor was also confronted with questions about the role of the ruling party and the President in the legislative process.
When asked whether he had considered the fact that the President would need to assent to the bill before it becomes law — and how that would happen if, as he alleged, the ruling party was opposed to it — El-Rufai stood his ground.
“Yes, what I said is absolutely right,” he said. “And my sense is that when the National Assembly overrides Akpabio and includes this provision, the president may withhold assent, in which case it will come back to the National Assembly for them to exercise their two thirds override, to override his veto. I think that will happen because I think the voice of Nigerians is very loud.”
He argued that lawmakers would ultimately act in their own political interest by preserving the provision for electronic transmission of results.
“And as far as the National Assembly members are concerned, and for their own self-preservation, they must preserve this provision for the real time transmission of results from the polling unit using electronic means. It’s for their own survival. It’s for the survival of this democracy,” El-Rufai said.
However, the host pushed back, pointing to previous controversial actions by the same National Assembly, including the swift change of the national anthem and the contentious passage of tax reform bills, which generated confusion over the officially gazetted version.
El-Rufai, who also served as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), responded that the political climate had changed because the country was approaching another election cycle.
“Because we’re in election season,” he said. “And two years ago, they can change the national anthem in five minutes. Last year, they can play games with the tax reform bills. But now they know that 2026 is there of preparing for elections.
“It is there that candidates will emerge and Nigerians are watching and Nigerians are angry and Nigerians will punish them if they go the way that Akpabio and Tinubu want.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: Akpabio (left) and El-Rufai.
