Akpabio’s ‘let the poor breathe’ remark misunderstood, reflects concern for citizens, says group

A National Assembly support group has stated that a comment, ‘let the poor breathe,’ recently made by the President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, during plenary was not an insult on Nigerians but a statement of his readiness to end the suffering of poor citizens.

Akpabio, had while presiding over a session, used the now viral statement credited to President Bola Tinubu, which generated criticisms from some Nigerians, who understandably accused the former Cross River State governor of mockery.

But, reacting to the development, the legislative support group, in a statement signed by its conveners Fidelis Sunday, Kabiru Yusuf, and Ugochukwu Nzube, said the comment, which was used to halt the hike in electricity tariff, was not a mockery of Nigerians at all.

The group said Akpabio’s comment was misconstrued, noting that he was very concerned about the plight of the citizens and ready to work to end same.

“The ‘Let the poor breathe’ comment made by President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio during a recent plenary was not an insult but readiness to end masses suffering. The phrase is a line from one of President Bola Tinubu’s June 12 speech, which cut up on social media and went viral,” read the statement.

“The Senate President while ruling that Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and 11 Electricity Distribution Companies should postpone their proposed pricing rise by the Senate as it was considering a resolution in that order, made a joke using the trending phrase. We appeal to Nigerians not to misconstrue the intention of the statement. He wasn’t making mockery of the hardships being faced by some citizenry.

“Akpabio is an uncommon leader who all through his political journey has shown how much he cares for the people. From 2007 to 2015, during his tenure as two-term Governor of Akwa Ibom, he patented the phrase ‘uncommon transformation’ by his unprecedented governance deliverables in human and infrastructural development. This was also seen during his tenure as a Senator and Minister. As the Senate President, his uncommon leadership will be felt by the citizens in due time.”