Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio says Nigerians should apologize to President Muhammadu Buhari for misunderstanding his good intentions for the country.
The senator said that President Buhari has done a lot for Nigeria and deserves to be praised. He made the statements on February 2, 2020, when he granted an audience to selected journalists in Akwa Ibom State.
“So, gentlemen, from the APC family, we must project what Mr. President is doing. This president has achieved so much. I am not saying this because I am talking politics, I am saying this because I am a minister.
“And if you sit at the Federal Executive council, you will be amazed. I have the vision to produce a short video with the caption ‘the Buhari I did not know.’
“Before I entered APC, just like any other person, you could say anything about the opposition and all that, but truthfully speaking, Nigeria owes Buhari an apology for the years of misunderstanding. He passionately loves Nigeria.
“He does not choose projects for this country on the basis of peculiar interest. Yes, he could have his own fault, which all of you could know, but the truth is that, in terms of being able to put things on the ground, he’s doing his best.”
The former Akwa Ibom State governor also used the opportunity to debunk rumors that he deliberately refused to attend Mr. Gabriel Nkanang’s burial because of his alleged rift with Governor Udom Emmanuel.
He said that he was not invited to the event despite his overt interest in the burial. “If you ask me, I will say that I was not invited. But even if I was not invited, I did what the bible says ‘mourn with those who mourn.’
“I had prepared to go for the burial, so I sent my protocol team to Government House to make an inquiry of the arrangement. They were told to ‘leave that thing’ and they came back to inform me.
“So, I quietly stayed back. But my wife was there. If you check the whole seats there, there was none that was labelled ‘Senator Akpabio.’ So, I was not invited.”