Senator George Akume

Anayo Okolie

Senate Minority Whip, Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon, yesterday reacted to a statement credited to the Benue State Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Abba Yaro, where the latter had fingered Solomon in the alleged plans to remove Senator George Akume as Minority leader in the Senate.

Solomon said Mushin, where he hails from would never field drunks and rascals for public offices, whether at the state or national levels despite its perceived notoriety.

Yaro, in an interview with a national daily did not only finger Solomon and his colleague from Anambra State, Senator Chris Ngige, as the ones behind the plot on the instructions of the Senate President, Senator David Mark, but added that “these people forget that Senate Minority leader’s position is not meant for Mushin boys like Senator Gani Solomon or men like Senator Chris Ngige.”

But Solomon said he was not surprised that such “an irresponsible statement is coming from Yaro and his paymaster because they are habitually deviant, both in utterances and action and if you ask those who know them, they would not be surprised since they lack self respect and conduct themselves in manners that bring ignominy to everyone, both close and remote.”

Describing Mushin people as “common, yet uncommon people,” Solomon said Yaro was not wrong to have described them (Mushin people) in that light, “what he forgot to add is that it is through our rascally ways that we have kept the party together for over 12 years before their non-value adding lot came to reap where they did sow and where they would obviously not sow before they move on with their sorry lives.

“Let us admit that there is an element of truth in the orchestrated moves to remove Akume, but to whose advantage? It is true that I fought the battle for what naturally was mine the way anyone who is worth his salt would do, but the moment our party took a position, it was no longer a subject of debate- we all fell in line and everybody moved on. So, why would I be linked to such idle tales that were lacking in substance and truth? It is the more reason I had refrained from commenting when this wolf-crying first started.

“Yaro and whoever was behind his very poor mannerism should come out and tell the whole world at least, one meeting that they were privy to where such motive was mooted. Does it not suggest to every discerning mind that his statement was a needless distraction aimed at stirring unnecessary ill-feeling in our peaceful and well coordinated party? We don’t backbite in our party and we don’t indulge in clandestine and sinister plots to pull others down.

“But I am not surprised because that is the standard of political rivalry where he comes from. They play innately bitter politics and do everything humanly possible to destroy one another, notwithstanding what is at stake. I make bold to say that it is not our way in the ACN and that is why it is convenient for renegades like them to find comfort in our party and prominently too to the extent that a nobody like Yaro with zero electoral value would open his mouth and describe me as a ‘Mushin boy’ in such a derogatory manner.

“If his problem is actually not poverty-driven as I am inclined to infer because I see his outburst as being stoked by sheer favour-seeking, then, he would be doing their people a lot of good by conducting an independent and genuine opinion poll on how well their ‘Star Representative’ is doing in the senate. That way, he would know without any iota of doubt that there is no basis for comparison between a Mushin boy who has and is still adding value to the advancement of his people and their celebrated drunk from Benue,” he said.