“Approval Doesn’t Mean Agreement” — Abaribe on NASS and Tinubu’s Govt

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who represents Abia South, has accused the National Assembly under Senate President Godswill Akpabio of failing to properly scrutinise the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Abaribe attributed the situation to what he described as “state capture,” where the legislature and other arms of government have become overly submissive to the executive.

Responding to questions on why lawmakers now criticise policies they previously approved, Abaribe said legislative approval does not mean unanimous agreement among all lawmakers. He stressed that dissenting voices often exist even when executive requests are passed.

According to him, the larger issue is the erosion of institutional independence, though he noted that some lawmakers still speak out and oppose government actions they consider wrong despite the prevailing climate

Abaribe said: “I’m a senator of the Federal Republic. I represent my constituency, and you bring your document to me, and I say I don’t agree with this document, and I have some colleagues who say they agree. What do you want me to do? That is the decision of the National Assembly. It does not necessarily mean that I agree.

“As I said here in front of you, nobody has controverted me till Today, and I said that when the President went to buy another plane that it was never brought to the National Assembly. Is that not what I said? Was it brought? It wasn’t. So there are too many things going on in this government.

“The Minister of Works was integorated about a signature project of the administration. Was there a competitive bidding? Was there any EOI done? Thet went ahead and they’re doing it and all that.

“The point really is simple, and we have to face that fact there is state capture. What is state capture? It is when all the different arms of government are now subservient to the executive. That is exactly where we are. So it does not mean some of us are not saying, no, this is wrong.”