Senate shuts down gossip: No crack in leadership ranks

The Nigerian Senate has dismissed media reports alleging a clash between Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele during a recent executive session.

The session, convened to discuss whether the Senate should proceed on its annual recess, sparked claims of discord, which the Senate has categorically refuted.

In a statement issued by Senator Yemi Adaramodu, representing Ekiti South and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, the Senate described the reports as baseless.

“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,” Adaramodu said.

“The reports do not contain any iota of truth.”

The statement clarified that the alleged conflict was a misinterpretation of routine parliamentary processes.

Adaramodu emphasized that debates are a fundamental part of legislative work globally.

“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,” he explained.

He said the Senate, as Nigeria’s highest law-making body, operates similarly, subjecting every bill, motion, and proposal to rigorous scrutiny.

“Like other parliaments, every bill, motion and proposal is always subjected to intense scrutiny in our Chamber almost on a daily basis,” Adaramodu noted.

“This entails robust debates to which members discuss and dissect every initiative before the Senate purely in the interest of over 230 million Nigerians.”

Addressing the specific allegations, the Senate rejected the notion that debates, whether in the chamber or committee rooms, indicate internal strife.

“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,” Adaramodu stated.

The statement reaffirmed the Senate’s commitment to its legislative duties, emphasizing that robust discussions are a hallmark of democracy, not division.