Why is Akume best-fit for Senate President?

Imagine that General Muhammadu Buhari contested presidential elections severally and lost severally yet he was deluded to believe that he was always winning but was always rubbed of victory until this time that he won in practical terms.Senator George Akume a Tiv man from Benue State is another man keeping a date with destiny as […]

Imagine that General Muhammadu Buhari contested presidential elections severally and lost severally yet he was deluded to believe that he was always winning but was always rubbed of victory until this time that he won in practical terms.
Senator George Akume a Tiv man from Benue State is another man keeping a date with destiny as regards the office of the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which he contested very keenly with Senator David Mark in 2007 but lost. George Akume was in all ramifications qualified except for the fact that he was a first time Senator. Today as the exit door of the Senate President’s office swings open for the incumbent Senator David Mark, the entrance door to the office bacons on Senator George Akume to step in because it is politically expedient as the Senate minority leader and in consideration of the Senate Ranking Rule which he also met. In addition to all of the above, Akume has maintained a clean slate both in his political career and his private life. A man of sterling quality, George has never been drawn into controversy of sorts, not accused of the sleaze which many of his peers are wantonly involved as former Governors in various states of the federation. Akume rather than loot the treasury when he was Governor of Benue State, unleashed an avalanche of development in all the facets of the socio-economic endeavours of the state such that between 1999 and 2007 Benue State became a beehive of activities and a very pleasant home for all tribes and religious groups to thrive among the natives harmoniously. A very amiable race, the Tiv tribe is the 4th largest population in Nigeria.
In the years to come when his subordinates tried to undermine his political ambition, he left the PDP for the ACN where he became the minority leader in the upper chamber and he has been well able to sustain the tempo of the revolutionary and progressive ideals of the minority as an ACN Legislator. Still under the merger which became APC, George has continued in his office so creditably and vibrantly that the views of the minority seem to be the voice of the majority ever since the emergence of the APC. He has been able to blend successfully with his team mates because of his immense humility and the degree of modesty with which he manages success.
In comparison with others from the North Central who may also be qualified to seek the same office, Akume wields the best credentials and maintains a clean sheet as much as any descent man would. Dr Bukola Saraki has also been mentioned severally for this office but if General Buhari is who we think he is, Saraki appears to have a lot of issues to settle, one of them the event that led to the liquidation of Societe Generale Bank.
If truly the President-elect is going to reposition this country he should not repeat the blunder which President Olusegun Obasanjo committed in 1999, soon after taking the oath of office. On the very day he was sworn in, he hosted the Senators to a dinner, which eventually became the launching pad for a corrupt Senate never seen before in the history of Nigeria. It was all in the attempt to substitute Senator Chuba Okadigbo with an unknown entity, Senator Evans Enwerem as the Senate President. Mr. Fix it was at hand to play his expected role ensuring that each of the Senators as a parting gift with a caveat “Vote for Senator Evans Enwerem for Senate President”.  The Senators were thus compromised to switch their allegiance from Dr Okadigbo to Senator Evans Enwerem and the following day when the election was conducted Chuba Okadigbo found himself topedowed. No sooner than later all the can of worms on Senator Evans Enwerem’s cargo began to drop one after another and the new Senate President became dangerously scandalized; and just before Obasanjo finished his tenure we counted four different Senate Presidents which made a mockery of the Upper Chamber.
As we contemplate on who the cap fits, we should also take note that Benue State was one of the swing states that made a lot of difference in all the elections in favour of our Party the APC and George Akume was the master mind. It would be pertinent to mention that the Tivs are Christians and they are very compatible with the Igbo Race so that the choice of Akume will be a very welcome development hence the Igbo race have no APC Senator to start with. In all, Senator George Akume will fit into General Muhammadu Buhari’s vision of a new and corrupt free Nigeria.

Chief Okeke wrote from Abuja <[email protected]>;