Opposition Sponsoring Bombings To Distract Tinubu — Akpabio

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday alleged that opposition elements were sponsoring bombings and insecurity across parts of the country in a bid to distract President Bola Tinubu and weaken his administration ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Akpabio made the claim in Abuja during the inauguration of the new headquarters of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), where he praised Tinubu’s leadership and ongoing reforms.

According to the Senate President, recent security incidents were politically motivated and designed to create fear and discredit the government.

“You are seeing insecurity today. It is even increasing because election is coming,” Akpabio said.

“As soon as election is over, watch out. In the first two weeks, you will not hear any single bomb blast because people are sponsoring it to distract you. They don’t know what else to do.”

The Senate President did not name any individual, group or political party allegedly involved in the sponsorship of attacks, but insisted that some forces were uncomfortable with the growing political strength of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He argued that President Tinubu’s performance in office had made it difficult for the opposition to mount a strong challenge, leading some actors to resort to desperate tactics.

“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,” Akpabio said.

“He came in with less than 18 governors. Today he has almost 32 governors under his fold out of 36.”

Akpabio said the ruling party had continued to gain political momentum because of what he described as the administration’s achievements in infrastructure, fiscal reforms and support for sub-national governments.

He also took a swipe at opposition parties, saying many of them were battling internal crises and lacked clear structures ahead of the next election cycle.

“Today, no opposition political party is stable in this country. They have not been able to put their houses in order,” he said.

The Senate President further defended Tinubu’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of petrol subsidy, saying the decision had saved Nigeria from fiscal collapse.

“From day one, you said fuel subsidy is gone. I asked myself, does this man know what he is talking about?” Akpabio said.

“But today, we can see that entrenched corruption was feeding on subsidy. Nigeria was spending almost 90 per cent to 93 per cent of revenue on subsidy and debt servicing.”

He said 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.

“There was no money for infrastructure. You cannot build something on nothing and expect it to stand,” he added.

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

“As a resident of the FCT, I have been here for many years. I have witnessed the Federal Capital Territory change under your administration,” he said.

“There were roads and bridges abandoned for years. Some of us did not even know they existed until work resumed on them.”

The Senate President also commended Tinubu for appointing persons outside the ruling party into strategic positions, saying it reflected an inclusive style of governance.

“You did not bring somebody only from APC. You brought somebody from another party so nobody will say you are not carrying the country along,” he said.

Akpabio used the occasion to urge Nigerians to focus on the administration’s achievements rather than what he described as distractions from political opponents.

“We have serious issues in some places where people are dying, but some people gather on television to discuss trivial matters because they realise they cannot match performance,” he said.