ABUJA: The Senate has firmly refuted recent reports suggesting internal discord, particularly within its leadership.
The Red Chamber specifically addressed claims of a confrontation between the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio and Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele during a recent executive session focused on the body’s annual recess.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, in a statement on Sunday, dismissed the reports as entirely baseless.
“Our attention has been drawn to diverse media reports claiming that President of the Senate, His Excellency Godswill Akpabio and Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, clashed during an executive session recently convened to deliberate whether the Senate should proceed on annual recess,” the statement read.
Senator Adaramodu emphasized that such narratives misrepresent established parliamentary norms and traditions globally, where diverse viewpoints are openly discussed through debates, questions, and interpellations before any decision is reached.
“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 authorization,” he explained.
He further clarified that the Nigerian Senate, as the nation’s primary legislative body, operates similarly.
According to him, every proposed bill, motion and initiative undergoes rigorous examination, often daily, involving robust discussions where members meticulously analyze proposals solely in the interest of the country’s over 230 million citizens.
Senator Adaramodu stresses that vigorous exchanges on policy matters, whether within the legislative chamber or committee rooms, should not be misconstrued as disputes among members, nor do they indicate any division within the leadership ranks.
