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By Lawrence Agbo
Senator Adams Oshiomhole has criticised Senate President Godswill Akpabio over moves to amend Senate leadership rules, insisting that Akpabio lacks the moral standing to push for an eight-year qualification requirement for principal officers.
Speaking to newsmen after the plenary, Oshiomhole argued that Akpabio himself did not meet such a benchmark before emerging as Senate President, noting that he became a principal officer in his very first term as a senator during the 8th Senate.
“The Senate President became a Minority Leader, a principal officer, during his first term as a senator in the 8th Senate. Today, he is the one presiding and asking us to change those rules,” Oshiomhole said.
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He stressed that Akpabio has not yet spent up to eight years in the Senate, even when combining his previous tenure with his current one, making the proposed rule contradictory.
“As we speak today, the Senate President hasn’t spent up to eight years, even if you count his previous years and his current one. So if we pass the rule that you must do eight consecutive years before you can become Senate President, it means he has to lead by example by vacating because he’s presiding without acquiring the appropriate qualifications,” he added.
Oshiomhole maintained that any attempt to impose such a rule would be unfair and selective, warning against using legislative procedures to shut out newer lawmakers from leadership opportunities.
His remarks have sparked renewed debate within the upper chamber over eligibility criteria for Senate leadership positions and whether experience should outweigh political consensus in determining principal officers.
