Barely nine months after the election of the principal officers of the 10th Nigerian senate, senators from the Northern zone of the country may have not given up the fight for the senate presidency, as they are said to be still plotting for the downfall and impeachment of Senate President, Godswill Akpabio
This revelation was made at the floor of the senate by Senate Majority Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele on Tuesday following a heated argument on what would be the fate of Bauchi central senator, and former chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, Abdul Ningi, over his allegation of over N3trn budget padding against the senate
As the mild-drama ensued on the floor of Senate Majority Leader, Micheal Opeyemi Bamidele’s narrated how the Northern senators plotted to use the Ningi allegation to initiate a fresh plot to impeach the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Bamidele, who insisted that Ningi must be severly punished for the unfounded allegation, maintained that the Bauchi central senator was playing a script written by few Senators, who were yet to come to terms with their losses at the senate leadership elections last June
The Senate leader noted further that the attempt to take over the Senate’s leadership beyond June 13, 2023, must come to an end.
Reacting to allegations of budget padding levelled against the President of the Senate by Senator Ningi, Bamidele said ” Over 60 Senators voted for Akpabio, and over 40 voted against him. That’s the will of the majority. But a few have refused to let the electioneering activities pass them by. They still hold bile, and that is why it is always about Akpabio, never about the Senate, never about the House of Representatives, the Director General of Budget.
“All of us passed this budget, and it was never about Mr President who signed this budget. It is always about Akpabio. We have momentum; this is a defining moment for all of us to say if we are going to have a stable Senate.
“It is not about North and South. It is about our rules (the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria). It is about our people who are hungry and deprived. Mr President, sitting as Chair, make no mistake of people who feel they are not going to give you more than one year, to spend on this chair, they want to do everything possible before the 13th of June to remove you.
“I want Nigerians to know for history’s sake that the last time the people of South-South had a chance to be Senate President was 40 years ago. The last time the South had a chance to be Senate President was during Obasanjo’s administration when it went to the South East.
“Five people were elected because they were impeached in quick succession. But as soon as it left the South, we had peace because we (the South) will always cooperate. David Mark spent eight years. Ahmad Lawal spent four peaceful years. Even Saraki, with all he did, spent four peaceful years.
“It is about Akpabio; it is about the South; you can now understand why Senator Ningi will want to use the platform of the Northern Senators Forum to push an agenda even when they disagreed with him. Mr President, I plead with you that this is an opportunity for us to let our rules prevail.”
At last, Senator Ningi for three months over his claim that the 2024 Budget was padded to the tune of N3.7 trillion.
