Senator Ishaku Abbo, who represents the Adamawa North Senatorial District, has said that Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, and his cronies were responsible for spreading rumours about his purported plans to be impeached.
The narrative, according to Abbo’s subsequent addition, was allegedly planned by the Senate President to stoke tension between President Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and northern lawmakers.
According to reports, Akpabio has vehemently refuted claims that he is the subject of an upcoming impeachment. These reports, according to him, are both false and vicious.
There were media reports on Saturday stating that plans were underway to unseat Akpabio as the president of the 10th Senate when the Senate reconvenes on September 26, 2023.
The report also noted that two prominent senators from the North West and other senators across the national assembly are already meeting and mapping out plans to carry out the daring move.
The reports also alleged that the senators believed that the Senate President was a rubber stamp for the presidency and may be unable to carry out his duty effectively.
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He stated, “I woke up today to find over 10 mainstream Nigerian newspapers all carrying news of a plan to impeach Senator Akpabio by senators from Northern Nigeria. The Whistler Newspaper even went on to name Senator Abdulaziz Yari, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, and Senator Ogoshi Onawo, among others, as the senators behind the move.”
Abbo added, “As a Northern senator and an official of the Northern Senators Forum, I boldly affirm that this news is intentionally disseminated and propagated by the ‘camp’ of Senator Akpabio solely to pit President Bola Tinubu against the North. I call on Senator Akpabio to rein in his camp, as the seeds of discord and deep ethno-religious division they are sowing will not bode well for the country. Why the North? Why in Saudi Arabia?”
He remarked, “If Akpabio and his camp wanted a united Senate, much like Ahmed Lawan, they would have known exactly what to do during Senate Standing Committees allocation and supplementary budget resources allocation. But the camp of the SP continued to treat the senate as a conquered territory where the winner walks away with the spoils of war. A classic case of the winner takes all.”
Expressing his frustration, the Adamawa lawmaker said, “How do you justify a situation where out of Category A Committees, only two were granted to his perceived rivals? How will you explain a senate where 83.1% of those appointed Chairmen of Category A Committees also serve as Vice Chairmen of Category A?
Abbo also claimed that the 10th Senate was the most condescending parliament. He further referred to the screening of ministerial nominees, where the Senate President sought clearance for certain nominees at the Villa. He added that the Senate was not given the opportunity to decide on the fate of rejected nominees.
Before embarking on its annual recess, the Senate screened 48 ministerial nominees sent by the president, with 45 receiving approval and three being rejected. Among the rejected three was former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
Reflecting on the screening, Abbo queried, “Let me pose this question: During the ministerial screening, when three ministerial nominees were denied clearance by the senate, which committee examined the petitions against them? Was it Ethics and Privileges, an ad-hoc committee, or the committee of the whole? Was the report deliberated and debated during plenary? Was there any voting, either AYE or NAY?
He went on to assert that Akpabio knows what it takes to maintain a peaceful Senate, akin to Ahmed Lawan, and “not blackmailing Senators from Northern region and using newspaper report to hoodwink the President.
