Let the poor breathe: Utomi’s attack on Akpabio misplaced, says Senate

A statement attributed to Professor Pat Utomi, a senior member of the Labour Party, criticizing the Senate’s decision to halt an increase in power rates that would have worsened the suffering of the general public was deemed misplaced by the Senate.

Yemi Adaramodu, the spokesperson for the Senate, stated in a statement released on Sunday in Abuja that “The Senate is alarmed at the insidious misinterpretation enunciated by some political surrealists, who always leave the causes of their troubles to look for unnecessary scapegoats.”

On Tuesday, July 25, the Red Chamber had approved a resolution by Senator Akintunde Abiodun to put an end to the anticipated increase in electricity rates.

Following the passing of the prayers, Senator Cyril Fasuyi (APC, Ekiti North) moved a second prayer with the phrase “Let The People Breathe.”

However, a brief video showing Akpabio giggling as he recited the prayers “Let the poor breathe” went viral, and some Twitter users mistook this for the Senate President making fun of the underprivileged.

Utomi, who made a comment regarding the Senate, said he was traumatized by the senators’ belittling of the poor.

Utomi declared, “I am traumatized by our Senate’s belittling of the poor. We should have resignations by now in a decent society.God is not to be mocked when the impoverished are. I am aware of Godswill Akpabio’s location prior to Obong Victor Attah’s assistance. Better an upright impoverished politician than a crooked rich one

In response to the social media statement, Adaramodu stated that it is “putting untruth and mischief in an unpleasant clothing” to imply that the President of the Senate, His Excellency, Godswill Akpabio, was making fun of the Nigerian people with the words “LET THE POOR BREATHE.

“Professor Pat Utomi’s personal attacks and character assassinations against the Senate President are inappropriate and misguided.

The Nigerian people elect Distinguished men and women to serve in the Senate as their representatives in the Holy Chamber. The public-interest motion to prevent an increase in the price of energy for Nigerians is one of these moments that puts the 10th Senate’s illustrious senators to the test.

The Senate stated that any increase in electricity rates would be suffocating and that whoever is desirous of doing so should let the poor and all Nigerians to breathe, adding that the fire of the elimination of fuel subsidies was still smoldering.

The Senate President gently slammed the gavel while sternly warning that such attempts would be annoying and ridiculous and would merely restrict the public’s access to oxygen.

However, some political irredentists and traitors believe they can turn the omnipotent reality on its head to regain their lost momentum, the Senate spokeswoman continued.

Without the people, there would be no Nigerian Senate, hence the Senate did not and would not mock them. Extreme partisanship being exploited to cast doubt on the Senate’s reputation and, in particular, the personality of the Senate President, is regrettable and represents a political shallowness, irreverent, and opprobrious outburst.

“We believe that whoever is in court to pursue a self-awarded electoral victory should not labor to assume that using profanity against the Senate and its leadership is the necessary elixir to inject legal blood into the dry veins of their case,” Adaramodu continued.

In its brief existence, the 10th Senate, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has enacted numerous life-saving resolutions, including the incorrectly interpreted Senate’s No to Increase in electricity tariff.

“We thus advise political rolling stones and pretenders not to play politics with the lives of Nigerians and allow the National Assembly to join hands with other arms of government to pull out Nigeria from economic morass and make life more abundant for us all