Donald Trump is still breathing down President Bola Tinubu’s neck over the alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria, says Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Mr Akpabio stated this while lamenting that over 200 schoolchildren kidnapped by bandits are still held hostage. Mr Akpabio raised the issue of the mass abduction of the schoolchildren on Wednesday during the screening of Christopher Musa, whom Mr Tinubu nominated as the defence minister.

Opposing Sani Musa, senator representing Niger East, who had said that the former chief of defence staff should be asked to take a “bow and go”, Mr Akpabio said the former defence chief should be asked critical questions on Nigeria’s security.

The Senate president cited pressure from the U.S. government, saying Mr Musa should be asked questions on Mr Trump’s threat to invade Nigeria to kill off terrorists.

“Even Nigerians will love to ask him questions at a time like this, so if we come here and we do politics, politics of bow and go… This is not a period we should say ‘bow and go’,” Mr Akpabio noted. “Even Donald Trump is on our neck; we have not yet asked him what his response will be to Donald Trump, the president of America.”

Mr Akpabio explained that “he is not just anybody”.

“He was the chief of defence staff and a nominee for minister of defence of a country, and you stand up and say he should take a bow and go with so many questions on the mouths of Nigerians with over 200 Nigerian children in the bush kidnapped and being tortured,” Mr Akpabio explained.

Following the kidnapping of over 250 pupils from St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri in Niger, Mr Akpabio had led other senators to attend a dinner at the Villa last week.

Reading the president’s wife’s invitation to senators for a dinner during plenary a week ago, Mr Akpabio said, “Remi Tinubu, CON, First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is like an invitation by a mother to her children on Friday. I wish you (a) sumptuous meal and fruitful discussion.”