James Adamu
Plenary in the Senate was thrown into disarray and abruptly suspended for over thirty minutes on Tuesday after Senator Danjuma Goje (APC, Gombe Central) openly accused the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, of breaching parliamentary rules.
The tension erupted shortly after Akpabio entered the chamber and took over the presiding seat from his deputy, Senator Jibrin Barau. The Senate President immediately summoned the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, and others to the podium for a private meeting while the session was ongoing.
Senator Goje, a former governor, swiftly rose on a point of order, citing Order 55 (12) (a) of the Senate Standing Orders 2023, which prohibits unofficial interactions during plenary.
“Mr. Senate President, what you are doing is unparliamentary. You are disturbing the business of the Senate,” Goje declared. “You cannot be holding a separate meeting when the Senate is in session. Interaction is not allowed except to move the business that we have been called upon to do.”
Akpabio, in response, invited Goje to join the meeting at the chair, an offer the Gombe Central senator vehemently refused. “I don’t want to be part of it. I’m opposed to this one. I will not come. It’s unparliamentary. It’s wrong,” Goje stated, insisting that the senators at the podium should leave so the Senate could proceed with its official agenda.
Efforts by Akpabio to pacify Goje and explain that the meeting was a “brief discussion” related to an urgent assignment at the Presidential Villa for the Armed Forces Emblem Launch failed to calm the situation.
“Noted,” Akpabio said in response to the point of order.
“Noted but not sustained?”Goje fired back, maintaining his stance until the Senate President directed the lawmakers at the podium to disperse.
The standoff created a rowdy scene, halting all legislative business as senators watched the extraordinary confrontation between the former governor and the presiding officer.
Normalcy was only restored after the private meeting was dissolved and Akpabio proceeded with the day’s schedule.
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