Why insecurity is spiking across Nigeria -Akpabio

Godswill Akpabio, Nigeria’s Senate President, has attributed the rise in insecurity to tactics employed by opposition political parties to distract the ruling party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Akpabio, who spoke at the inauguration of the Nigeria Revenue Service Headquarters in Abuja, on Tuesday, said that recent security incidents were politically motivated and designed to create fear and discredit the Government.

He maintained that the performance of the Tinubu-led Administration had made it difficult for the opposition to mount a strong challenge, leading some actors to resort to desperate tactics.

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“You are seeing insecurity today. It is even increasing because an election is coming. As soon as the election is over, watch out. In the first two weeks, you will not hear a single bomb blast because people are sponsoring it to distract you. They don’t know what else to do.

“They said this man is too good in many areas. If governors are attracted to him, it is because he is taking very good care of the states. He came in with less than 18 governors. today, he has almost 32 governors under his fold out of 36″, he said..

Speaking further, Akpabio commended President Tinubu for the removal of the fuel subsidy, which he said was gulping over 90% of the nation’s revenue. He said that prior to the reforms, successive governments had little fiscal space for capital projects because most revenues were used to service debts and fund recurrent obligations.

He commended the President for what he described as visible transformation in the Federal Capital Territory, citing ongoing road projects and the rehabilitation of previously abandoned infrastructure.

“From day one, you said fuel subsidy is gone. I asked myself, does this man know what he is talking about? But today, we can see that entrenched corruption was feeding on the subsidy. Nigeria was spending almost 90% to 93% of revenue on subsidy and debt servicing.

“There was no money for infrastructure. You cannot build something on nothing and expect it to stand. As a resident of the FCT, I have been here for many years. I have witnessed the Federal Capital Territory change under your administration. There were roads and bridges abandoned for years. Some of us did not even know they existed until work resumed on them”, he noted.

He however said that the recent move by the United States to shut down its Embassy in Abuja was not connected to politics or insecurity in Nigeria, insisting that diplomatic missions are acting based on international security considerations.

“Some people say that even now some embassies are closing down. Not many embassies are closing down. Many of the embassies are afraid of repercussions from their foes.

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“For instance, I can say that America is a bit worried about the bomb blast from Iran, and so across the world, they have to reduce their staff in case Iran decides to attack their embassies.

“When people are thinking, oh, Nigeria’s embassies are closing because the election is coming. It’s not because the election is coming. The election will come and go, and God will protect you. God will protect Nigeria. Nigeria will outlive this election,” he added.