The Senate has constituted a committee to oversee the affairs of the Rivers State Government under an emergency rule.
The committee will be chaired by the Senate Leader, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the formation of the committee while welcoming senators back from the short Eid-el-Fitr and Easter recess.
The committee’s membership cuts across all political parties represented in the Red Chamber.
Godswill Akpabio said these sacred seasons—Christianity’s celebration of sacrifice and resurrection, and Islam’s culmination of fasting, prayer, and charity—are not merely religious milestones, they are moral mirrors and national metaphors.
He said they remind us of the virtues this country so desperately needs: sacrifice, discipline, patience, unity, and the courage to rise from adversity.
The senate.president advised Members of the Red chambers that those lessons not remain in the churches or mosques we attended, Let them walk with us into this chamber, speak through our debates, and shine in the quality of the laws we make.
Akpabio explained that the burdens on our shoulders are enormous, and no season better prepares the soul to carry such burdens than the one we’ve just passed through.
He argued that the Nation’s economy continues to stretch the patience and resilience of our people, the rising cost of living, the instability in the energy sector, and the persisting insecurity in parts of the nation all these demand not just attention but legislative action that support the great work President Bola Tinubu is doing to fix the various challenges which besiege our nation.
He added that In the South-East and North-West, communities still battle criminality and terrorism while in the North-Central, farmers and herders still seek protection and justice and in the South-South, the questions of environmental equity and resource fairness remain unresolved.
According to him, these are not just news but the bleeding wounds of the republic, saying that our people look to us, not for rhetoric, but for rescue. But I believe that there is no river we cannot cross if we put our trust in God and faith in the people he has ordained to lead us in both the Executive and Legislative Arms of our government.
Godswill Akpabio cautioned the legislatures not to make any mistake:
“we are under watch, the people are watching, the world is watching. Our constituents are watching. And history silent, but unsleeping is watching.
No test must find us wanting. No challenge must catch us unprepared.”
He assured to be examining bills critical to national stability—on security reform, economic resilience, education, technology, and youth empowerment. Our committees will delve into oversight functions that could unlock the performance potential of many MDAs.
Bashir M
