Lawmaker raises concern over Akpabio’s ‘unparliamentary’ side meetings during plenary

There was mild drama in the Senate chamber on Tuesday after Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, briefly halted plenary to hold a private discussion with some senators at his seat.

Akpabio arrived in the chamber at about 12:10 pm, while plenary presided over by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin was already underway.

He took over proceedings during the presentation of scheduled bills.

However, about ten minutes after assuming control, he summoned Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate Leader, to his chair for a discussion.

Shortly after Bamidele approached, several other senators, including Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South), Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), Jimoh Ibrahim (Ondo South), Titus Zam (Benue North-West), and Barau, moved towards the Senate President’s seat, causing plenary to stall for more than 30 minutes.

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While some senators huddled around Akpabio, others were seen chatting among themselves.

Many lawmakers left their seats to hold side conversations, creating a noisy and disorderly atmosphere in the chamber.

During the ongoing discussion, Gombe Central Senator Danjuma Goje rose to caution the Senate President against pausing plenary for private consultations.

Goje, a former governor and member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said Akpabio’s action was unparliamentary and insisted such discussions should not take place during an active session.

He referenced Order 55 of the Senate Rule Book, which prohibits senators from interrupting proceedings, stressing that such meetings should be held outside the chamber.

“Interaction not allowed, what I’m trying to say Mr President is that what is happening now is unparliamentary, what you’re doing now is unparliamentary, you should have taken this meeting outside, everything is standstill now.

“We’re not doing our actual business. We should go on recess. When we’re ready we’ll come back and meet you,” he added.

Responding, Akpabio explained that the senators gathered at his seat were invited to deliberate on an assignment scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Presidential Villa.

“Everybody that you’re seeing here was invited by the chair for a brief discussion in continuation of today’s sitting and in line with the order you’ve just read, whether or not we should proceed in view of a very urgent assignment at the via by 1 o’clock,” Akpabio said.

The Senate President then asked Goje to approach the chair so he could also be part of the meeting.

“And please approach the chair so that you can also be part of it,” he added.

Goje rejected the invitation, saying he was not interested, while bursting into laughter.

“I don’t want to be part of it,” Goje responded laughing.

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