Political economist and a former presidential aspirant, Prof. Pat Utomi has condemned the Senate for appearing to ‘mock’ poor Nigerians during plenary on Tuesday in a viral video.
The lawmakers were seen in the video making fun of the popular slang, ‘Let the poor breathe’.
While deliberating on a resolution, the Senate urged the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and 11 Electricity Distribution Companies to halt their proposed tariff increase in order to “allow Nigerians to breathe.”
In the video making the rounds on social media on Wednesday, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, could be seen laughing with other senators after saying the phrase “Let the poor breathe,” before hitting the gavel on the table.
Reacting to the video, Utomi in a series of Tweets on Friday knocked the Senate for mocking poor Nigerians.
He wrote” I am traumatized by this mocking of the poor by our Senate. In a decent society we should have had resignations by now. To mock the poor is to mock God. I know where Godswill Akpabio was before Obong Victor Attah gave a hand. Better an honest poor than a rich thief politician
To abuse public trust and mock the victims as is becoming habit of the criminal network of our politicians is to forget how transient power is. All will do well to remember the Judgment of Conscience, the judgment of history, and the Judgement of God. He reigns.
I wonder what it will take to make people realize that values shape human progress. Sustainable progress is not possible where culture is in collapse and institutions are dysfunctional. Sadly this seems extant reality in Nigeria. Citizens need to be awakened to where we are.
I am traumatized by this mocking of the poor by our Senate. In a decent society we should have had resignations by now. To mock the poor is to mock God. I know where Godswill Akpabio was before Obong Victor Attah gave a hand. Better an honest poor than a rich thief politician
— Pat Utomi (@UtomiPat) July 28, 2023
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