Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has expressed confidence that Nigeria will overcome its security challenges, saying insurgency and criminality will eventually be defeated just as the country survived the civil war, Ebola and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Akpabio spoke on Sunday at an inter-denominational church service held at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, to mark Democracy Day, where he urged Nigerians not to lose hope despite ongoing insecurity.
Reflecting on 27 years of uninterrupted democratic governance, he said the country had weathered several difficult periods and would also overcome its current challenges.
“We have survived political upheavals, economic turbulence. We will survive Insurgencies.
“We have survived pandemics like Ebola and COVID 19 and seasons of despotism. Yet here we stand. Twenty-seven years of democratic governance. Twenty-seven years of constitutional order. Twenty-seven years of hope renewed,” he said.
The Senate President acknowledged the impact of insecurity across the country, noting that attacks on communities, threats to farmers and travellers, and the abduction of innocent citizens, particularly children, remained a source of national concern.
Describing the plight of kidnapped children as deeply painful, Akpabio said the suffering of victims and their families weighed heavily on the nation’s conscience.
“That is why my heart breaks for every child in captivity and every parent who lies awake through the long hours of the night, not knowing whether a son or daughter is safe, hungry, frightened or even alive,” he said.
Drawing from his childhood experience during the civil war, he said the ordeal faced by abducted children today was even more traumatic, but assured Nigerians that the situation would improve.
“It is a tragedy that wounds the conscience of our nation. But l assure you there is a brighter tomorrow. The evil you see today, you shall soon see them no more,” he added.
Akpabio also recalled introducing monthly prayer sessions during his tenure as governor of Akwa Ibom State to confront militancy and kidnapping, urging Nigerians to continue praying for the exposure and defeat of those behind violent crimes.
He further assured that the administration of President Bola Tinubu remained committed to securing the release of people held captive and restoring peace across affected communities.
“On the part of the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, this administration remains steadfast in its determination to secure the freedom of those in captivity, defeat the forces of terror and criminality, and restore peace to our communities,” he said.
Also speaking at the service, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, said President Tinubu had reassured Nigerians of his administration’s determination to tackle insecurity and address prevailing economic challenges.
