When the media was awash last week with news that the Senate had rejected the passage of a bill requiring election results to be transmitted in real time, many Nigerians were appalled at it and criticised the senate in the thinking that there probably was no voice to push the wishes of what was clearly the desire of a majority of Nigerians forward.

Following the development, there were all manner of noise considered a setback to Nigeria’s democracy. Expectations for a free, fair, and credible election suddenly became dimmer.

However, hope was rekindled when, the next day, the Senator representing Abia Central Senatorial District in the Senate, Senator Austin Akobundu alongside other members of the senate minority caucus did a pushback and made a very strong case for the transmission of election results in real time to be made a part of the process.

Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief knowing that some Senators still listen to the people and care about their wishes.

They had hope rekindled in them seeing that Senator Austin Akobundu is among the senators who align themselves with the aspirations of the people even when such alignment might come at a cost. He did not care! All he cared about was ensuring that the people were no longer shortchanged and that their electoral choices were no longer thwarted.

In doing this, Akobundu alongside the caucus members displayed courage when silence would have been most convenient; he demonstrated the rare virtue of loyalty with the people even when aligning with the establishment would have fetched him more than a handshake. He exhibited true leadership and further etched his name in the roll call of statesmen.

Akobundu understands that for such issues touching the very heart of our democracy, a day of reckoning would come when questions would be asked about where he stood when duty to people called.

He answered, and he answered rightly!

With his established profile as a Senator of the people, Akobundu has once again proven that his voice will always stand out amidst noises of setback.

A Senator to rely on!