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By Steve Ibem
Sen Enyinnaya Abaribe
Caucus of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, in the senate has been counselled to consider the person of Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe for the post of minority leader, describing him as an experienced legislator. The advice was given by a PDP support group under the auspices of a civil society group, PDP Diaspora Network, PDP, DW.
The advice is contained in a press statement made available to newsmen in New York, USA and signed by Godwin Imokodi and Jeffrey Uzondu, the group’s International Coordinator and General Secretary respectively. It argued that going by global best practices, a leader of an opposition party in a parliament is usually a high ranking legislator with a profound experience in politics, and Sen. Abaribe is an embodiment of that.
“Here in the US and elsewhere in the world where democracy is deeply entrenched, opposition leaders are usually elected from among the most experienced lawmakers within the caucus who understand the diverse rules in the legislative chamber. As members and supporters of PDP who wish that the party succeeded, we make our useful proposition in this regard” the group stated.
“Senator Abaribe is in the senate for the third time in a row and has been chairman of sensitive senate committees, including Information, Media and Publicity. He has been pretty consistent unlike those that jump from one party to the other. Besides all this, he was once a deputy governor of Abia State and well-bred political activist with the deserved capacity to checkmate the ruling party,” the group added
We are pleased that the PDP has a good proportion of members in the senate. What we need is competent leadership that can so unite the caucus that the ruling APC will have no option but to always seek its support on issues in the red chamber. Such leadership qualities are in-built in Sen. Abaibe.
Available records of the senate show that Sen. Abaribe has moved landmark motions and sponsored a number of live changing bills. There is hardly any sensitive issue being debated on the floor of the upper chamber that he does not make important contributions to. “In fact, leadership of the PDP caucus without Sen. Abaribe is analogous to taking the gilt of the ginger bread. It is therefore our sincere advice that all PDP senators and stakeholders come together and assign Sen Abaribe the job when the 9th inaugurated” the statement emphasized.
