Godswill Akpabio, president of the Senate, has refuted rumors that a crisis is developing in the upper house of the legislature and insisted that disagreement in the Parliament is a typical occurrence in any democratic environment.
The clarification followed a rumored yelling march on Tuesday that appeared to resolve a problem between two gladiators, Akpabio and Ali Ndume, Chief Whip of the Senate, on the Senate floor.
However, responding to inquiries about the situation after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Senator Akpabio asserted that the Parliament only contains mature individuals who are dedicated to collaborating with the Executive to advance the nation.
You have to disagree in order to agree, he said. We are all operating together. There is absolutely no issue. Even if some senators disagree with parts of the proceedings, only the majority judgment will be upheld because that is how the parliament works.
But we’ll never reach the stage where we chuck chairs. That stage will never be reached by us. Because there are so many mature individuals in the senate, if there is a disagreement we enter a closed session to settle it and emerge smiling.
“We are politicians; our interests remain constant, not our animosity. The nation’s interest lies in that interest. We have been and will continue to assist the President and his administration in their efforts to pass legislation and carry our oversight duties in order to advance the nation.
He said that he had been to the State House “to notify the President about the first 10th Assembly retreat, which would take place tomorrow (today) in Akwa Ibom State, and to ask his assistance in order to ensure representation at the retreat, and that he had kindly done that.
“I informed him of some of the topics we would be talking about, including task reform and strategies for guaranteeing that he would have enough money to work for Nigerians.
“He should be told that the Senate won’t be present in Abuja. For the next four days, we are transporting the Senate all the way to Akwa Ibom.
“Thereafter, I’ll be flying there myself to attend the internal parliamentary union in Angola. Therefore, it will likely be another nine days before he sees me. So I had to let him know,” he said.
