• Chief Whip stages walk out to protest Senate president’s out-of-order ruling
From Fred Itua, Abuja
The face-off between the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and some lawmakers, especially the Chief Whip, Mohammed Ali Ndume, yesterday, deepened.
Barely ten minutes after the commencement of plenary, Ndume raised a point of order on alleged errors committed and not corrected by the Akpabio. The error referred to by Ndume was a motion moved by Summaila Kawu for a debate on the need for the reopening of Nigeria-Niger border, without reading the title of his motion. The Borno State lawmaker, who rose through Order 51 of the Senate Standing Rules, requested Akpabio to allow for correction of any error made or observed in plenary.
“This is the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guided by laws, rules and procedures. If in the course of proceedings at any session errors are observed, they must be corrected before forging ahead with such proceedings.”
However, Akpabio said having ruled on issues raised, it cannot be revisited and consequently ruled Ndume out of order.
Sunday Karimi from Kogi West, made frantic efforts to sustain Ndume’s line of argument through another Point of Order, but was also ruled out of order by Akpabio.
In a trouble shooting effort, Deputy senate President, Jibrin Barau, quickly rose to read Order 16, which requires a substantive motion to be moved by any senator for correction or review of earlier decisions taken.
An infuriated Ndume raised another Point of Order (Order 54) to seek for correction of perceived error. But without being allowed to make a full presentation of his argument, Akpabio, again, ruled him out of order. Angry, Ndume packed his documents and stormed out of the chamber.
Shocked by the scenario, senators hurriedly went into an executive session.
Since his election in June, 2023, Akpabio has had a series of battles and disagreements with his colleagues.
His first gaffe, according to aggrieved senators, was the alleged deliberate sidelining of ranking All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators in the selection of principal officers. The issue was yet to abate when former governors accused Akpabio of deliberately silencing them, especially in the selection of chairmen of Standing Committees.
The accusations almost culminated in his removal as senate president by aggrieved senators who accused him of an autocratic style of leadership.
On Monday, Senator Ishaku Abbo, who was removed from the Senate by the Appeal Court, told newsmen in Abuja that anti-Akpabio senators including himself, will be removed
He said former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, would be the next person to go, unless there were last minutes interventions.
The Adamawa State senator, who expressed disappointment that the judiciary was being used by some people he referred to as “cabal members”, noted that democracy was being destroyed.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to note that the democracy he fought for during the military rule is not the one being practiced at the moment.
Akpabio has spent barely 120 days in office. Though he was endorsed by President Tinubu, certain forces and senators had opposed his emergence.
The senators who pushed for the election of Abdulaziz Yari have repeatedly accused Akpabio of persecuting them.