N30bn Palliatives: Akpabio Apologises to Makinde, Govs Over Remark, Says “I Hold You in High Esteem”

• Akpabio has tendered an apology to the state governors for his previous comments regarding the disbursement of palliatives allowance
• Bashir Ahmad, Buhari's former aide, confirmed the development on his X account on Tuesday morning
• This came after Makinde tackled Akpabio and revealed the truth concerning the money Tinubu's government gave to state governors to address hardship in their domain

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

FCT, Abuja - The president of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has apologised to the state governors over his comment on the N30 billion hardship allowance allegedly given to them.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari's former assistant, Bashir Ahmad, confirmed Akpabio's apology in a post shared on his X account on Tuesday morning, February 27.

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@BashirAhmaad tweeted:

"President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has offered an apology to the state governors for his remarks regarding the reported N30 billion hardship allowance they were said to have received."

Akpabio, state governors brawl

Akpabio had called upon governors to account for the allocation, citing unverified reports of its distribution to alleviate citizen hardship.

At a plenary sitting last Tuesday, February 20, Akpabio claimed state governors received N30bn each from the federation account to cushion the effect of inflation and the high cost of food prices.

This didn't go down well with some state governors. In response to the Senate president, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state refuted the claim.

Akpabio begs Makinde, other governors

On Monday evening, February 26, Akpabio apologised to Governor Makinde and others.

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Hardship: Tinubu sets up economic advisory committee, says “I don’t have all the answers”

As reported by The Punch, Akpabio, in a statement by his media adviser, Eseme Eyiboh, said he held the governors in high esteem.

“The unfortunate conjectures to take away the kernel in the material facts of FAAC payment are rather regretted. Considering the well-intended motive of urging state governments to collaborate with the Federal government of President Bola Tinubu to facilitate strategic interventions to mitigate the prevailing economic situation in the country remains the underpinning motivation in the comment.”

Other states tackle Akpabio

In another development, Legit.ng reported that Nigerian governors denied Akpabio's claim that the Bola Tinubu-led government disbursed N1.08 trillion (N30 billion each) to states to address the hardship in the country.

Just like Makinde, states like Lagos and Osun also denied receiving N30 billion each from the federal government.

The Lagos state commissioner for information, Gbenga Omotoso, refuted the claim that the state received N30 billion.

Source: Legit.ng