The Senate has dismissed reports on a rebellion against Senate President Godswill Akpabio allegedly instigated by Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, inside the chamber.
According to the reports Bamidele had during a closed door session to finetune preparations for the Senate recess was involved in a shouting match with Akpabio over alleged lack of consultations.
Both men it was alleged quarreled over the date for holidays with Bamidele allegedly accusing Akpabio of taking unilateral decisions as he was quoted as threatening to resign over the alleged lack of consultations.
A lawmaker, Ali Ndume, a former Senate Leader, was said to have during the alleged altercation urged the Senate leadership to hold its principal officers meeting where issues concerning the Senate should be articulated ahead of Senate sessions.
Responding to the alleged altercation between Akpabio and Bamidele, the Senate spokesman, Yemi Adaramodu said: “Our attention has been drawn to diverse media reports claiming that President of the Senate, His Excellency Godswill Akpabio, GCON and Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, CON clashed during an executive session recently convened to deliberate whether the Senate should proceed on annual recess.
“The reports do not contain any iota of truth. In entirety, they misconstrue time-tested practices and traditions in the parliament worldwide, where members, regardless of their political leanings, leverage the instruments of parliamentary debates, questions or interpellations to discuss every initiative decisively and eclectically before approval or authorisation.
“The Senate, as our country’s highest law-making institution, is not different in any way. Like other parliaments, every bill, motion and proposal is always subjected to intense scrutiny in our Chamber almost on a daily basis. This entails robust debates to which members discuss and dissect every initiative before the Senate purely in the interest of over 230 million Nigerians.
“Whether in the chamber or committee room, debates on policy issues should not be misconstrued as altercations among members, neither do they suggest any crack in the rank of the leadership.”
