'Let the poor breathe' remark not intended to mock suffering Nigerians - Akpabio

<p>Akpabio condemned the negative narrative being woven around the 'let the poor breathe' remark made during plenary.</p>, <span>Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. Facebook:Godswill Obot Akpabio</span>, <h2>The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has addressed the criticisms trailing his remark made at the plenary session on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.</h2>, <p>Akpabio and his colleagues in the upper legislative chamber have come under heavy criticism following a jocular remark passed during deliberation of a motion moved by Senator Akintunde Abiodun from Oyo State.</p>, <p>While presenting the motion, which urged the senate to stop the proposed tariff hike by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and distribution companies (DisCos), Abiodun introduced humour in his delivery by telling the concerned bodies to "let the poor breathe."</p>, <p>It'd be recalled that President Bola Tinubu popularised the catchphrase in a video before his inauguration, in which he appealed to the ruling elite not to suffocate the poor masses.</p>, <p>Meanwhile, Akpabio also emulated Senator Abiodun by repeating the catchphrase when taking votes of lawmakers on the motion.</p>, <p>This has elicited angry reactions from many Nigerians who deemed the action of the lawmakers as a mockery of the sufferings Nigerians are currently going through.</p>, <p>But, in his reaction to the criticisms, the senate president insisted that he had no intention to insult Nigerians, claiming that he was fully aware of the hardships resulting from the high cost of living.</p>, <p>In a statement shared on Friday, July 28, 2023, Akpabio argued that the motive behind his 'let the poor breathe' remark “was to firmly reject any plan of increasing electricity tariffs for Nigerians, considering the ongoing economic challenges that Nigerians are faced with.”</p>, <img src="https://cdn-fmcrawler.shalltry.com/public/prod/files/images/2023-07-30/original/ba746d07-5fbf-427c-bcf7-2db8d258ac83.jpg">, <span>Nigerian senators with Senate President Godswi