She missed orientation, unaware of Senate rules – Sen. Akpabio
Senate passes vote of confidence in Akpabio, adjourns till March 5
The Senate on Tuesday – today, February 25 – directed its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to probe the conduct of the Senator representing Kogi Central, Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, on the floor of the Senate last Thursday.
It also passed a vote of confidence in Senate President Godswill Akpabio, saying he was only protecting the institution of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
This was sequel to the consideration and debate on a report by the Spokesman of the Senate, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Sen. Yemi Adaramodu (Ekiti South), on news publications and reports on the incident.
Akpoti-Uduaghan sparked controversy when she accused the Senate president, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, among other things, of reallocating her seat in the Senate Chambers in order to “silence” and intimidate her, while reacting to the change of her sitting position in the Red Chamber.
She had raised her voice in plenary to challenge the Senate president and refused all entreaties by her colleagues who tried explaining the rationale behind the decision.
Relying on Order 1(b), Adaramodu cited an interview which she had with the host of Brekete Family on Human Rights Radio and TV, Ordinary Ahmad Isah, wherein she further levelled allegations against the Senate President.
He decried the distorted reportage of what transpired and urged the Senate to act on it.
Responding to the report, Leader of the Senate, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central) reminded his colleagues that there is a standing committee which addresses issues such as the one raised by the House Spokesman.
He, therefore, urged them to refer the matter to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions for further legislative action.
His position was carried by the Senate President who emphasised the importance of adhering to Senate rules.
Akpabio noted that he had observed that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan has not studied her rule book, so she is unfamiliar with parliamentary procedures.
“I was a member of the 8th Senate, today I’m a member of the 10th Senate, I believe strongly that it’s only God that knows who will be a member of the 11th Senate, 12th Senate but the institution remains. As I’m talking now, Senator Fatai Buhari knows that the rule does not allow a senator to sit anywhere, but if you need to make a contribution, you must go back to your seats and this is part of maintenance of order by the presiding officer.
“The first time the issue came up, our distinguished sister was not even speaking from her seat and that was when we tried to call her to order. I think part of the problem is when people come from court, court-declared senators, they miss the orientation,” the Senate President noted.
Akpabio subsequently ordered the management of the National Assembly to henceforth organise periodic orientation for Senators who did not start from the beginning of the assembly.
“Because I remember that this particular Senator (Akpoti-Uduaghan), on the day she was sworn in, raised her hand to speak. I was scared, but I had to recognize her because I was saying, we just gave her the rule book as part of what we give to you when you are sworn in.
“So I said, has she even opened the rule book to know what to say before? She made a complete deviation, I think two days later, she got a motion. There is nothing wrong with being vibrant, but there is a lot wrong when you don’t know anything about the procedure,” Akpabio further explained.
Akpabio cited various sections of the Senate Standing Orders to justify his stance, stressing that he has been empowered to suspend erring senators for 14 days in the first instance, without any committee investigating the matter to ensure that decorum is maintained at all times.
Justifying his directive for the sergeant-at-arms to walk her out when she refused to calm down, he read section 66 (1) from the Senate Rule Book, “In the case of sitting, Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, shall order such a senator whose conduct is grossly disorderly to withdraw immediately from the Senate for the remainder of that day’s sitting. The president of the Senate shall order such a senator to withdraw in the event that he views her conduct or his conduct to be disorderly for the remainder of that day’s sitting. And the sergeant-at-arms shall act on such orders or he may receive from the chair impetuous of this order.:
“Look at 55, behaviour of senators in the Senate. This one is a general thing we must read when given to us. It’s like a Bible in the church and like a Quran in the mosque. At the entry, or let’s say, during a sitting, that is section 55(2), all Senators shall enter or leave the Senate with decorum. It means that the sanctity of the Senate must be maintained and please go through it, you see what is expected of a Senator. You can’t even cross the floor during sittings. You can’t chew gum during sittings. You cannot even drink water in the chamber during sitting. We cannot pass between chairs, at the point of putting a question during sitting, no senator can step out of the chamber or pass between chairs.
“Then if you go to section 6, the President of the Senate shall allocate a seat to each Senator. A senator may only speak from the seat allocated to him, provided that the president of the Senate may change that allocation from time to time.
“Here, this book here gives the power to the Senate president to even suspend a senator for at least 14 legislative days without reference to any committee. And that means if we are sitting three times in a week, that comes to about five weeks, without reference to any committee,” Akpabio elucidated.
He also debunked her claim that he muted her microphone to stop her from expressing her grievances on that day.
“I did not mute the microphone because as at that day, we didn’t have the capacity for the Senate President to mute the microphone from here because of the new installation we have here. Our colleagues went there and tried to mute the microphone to plead with her not to talk but later on, I sent somebody from here to go and tell him to unmute the microphone so that she can ventilate her grievances. I wanted to hear why she would not move.”
He continued,: “I found that why she did not obey the senate standing order was because she wanted to position herself where the camera could see her. I don’t know what she said in the video. The standing orders of the Senate do not matter unless she sits here, the camera can see her. But I want to let you know that here, here’s it. It’s an instrument placed before the Senate president. The moment you press that you want to talk, it gives a signal here.”
Akpabio reiterated that the rules of the Senate are clear and must be upheld by all members, regardless of personal grievances or motives.
Minority leader of the Senate, Sen. Abba Moro (Benue South) thereafter moved the motion for the matter to be referred to the Ethics Committee for further legislative action.
When put to vote, the motion was adopted.
If found wanting, Akpoti-Uduaghan may be suspended for a period recommended by the panel.
The Committee has two weeks to submit its report.
Meanwhile, the Senate has adjourned plenary till March 5, 2025. Senate leader Bamidele Opeyemi said this is to enable the lawmakers to concentrate on the processing of the Tax Reform Bills.
