Tempers flared yesterday on the floor of the senate as lawmakers in the camp of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, clashed over a stepped down motion bordering on the disbursement of N500 billion loan.
The crisis pitted lawmakers that benefitted from the recent announcement of principal officers by Akpabio, against the losers.
On Tuesday, Akpabio had released the list of principal officers with former governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and former leader of the Senate, Ali Ndume, failing to clinch the two most coveted positions in the upper legislative chamber.
Contrary to expectations, Ekiti senator, Bamidele Opeyemi was named majority leader ahead of Ndume who served as Akpabio’s campaign director for Senate presidency, while Tambuwal lost out to Plateau North Senator, Simon Mwadkwon who was announced as minority leader.
At plenary, yesterday, the bad blood generated by the development became obvious when Ndume got up to read the contents of his motion, which had been captured in the Order Paper, titled: “Un-even disbursement of half a trillion naira loan to six geopolitical zones by the Development Bank of Nigeria.”
While attempting to establish certain facts about the same motion he sponsored in the 9th Senate, Akpabio stepped in and stopped him.
Infuriated, Ndume tried, but without success to explain issues surrounding the motion in the 9th Senate. Instead, Solomon Adeola, who has been primed to head the Senate Committee on Appropriations, stepped in.
Adeola told the Senate that Sani Musa headed the adhoc Committee in the 9th Senate and should be allowed to talk. He was permitted by Akpabio. While explaining his role in the saga, Musa accused Ndume of deliberately misleading the Senate, insisting that the final report was signed by Ndume, and therefore he can’t feign ignorance of what transpired.
Thereafter, Akpabio, without further recourse to Ndume, ruled and suspended the consideration of the motion already captured in the day’s Order Paper. An attempt by Ndume to reintroduce the motion was frustrated by Akpabio.
Aliyu Wadada, a member of Social Democratic Party (SDP) from Nasarawa State, protested and insisted on debating the motion. Again, Akpabio ruled him out of order and refused to allow any debate on the issue.
An angry Ndume, unwilling to let go, lampooned Musa and accused him of peddling falsehood. Ndume said as an experienced senator, it was wrong for him to have been accused unfairly and insisted that the issues in the motion were too germane to be ignored.
Again, Akpabio refused to allow a debate on the motion. The issues were still pending, when the deputy leader of the Senate, David Umahi, who stood in for the Senate leader, Bamidele moved to the next item in the Order Paper.
According to the suspended motion, Ndume claimed that the annual integrated statutory report of the Development Bank obtained in July, 2022, revealed that N483 billion was disbursed, but only 11 per cent went to the entire 19 northern states, while only Lagos State got 47 per cent of the entire funds.
Ndume in the suspended motion, said out of the funds, South West got a lion’s share of 57 per cent which is estimated to be N274 billion; the South South got 17 per cent (N81 billion); FCT and North Central got 11 per cent (N53 billion); while the South East got a paltry 9 per cent (N43 billion); North West got 5 per cent (N24 billion); and the North East got only 1 per cent (N4 billion).
Ndume had suggested that the Senate set up an adhoc Committee to carry out a holistic investigation into the matter and report back in four weeks for further legislative action.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, met with the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu and the Party Secretary, Dr Iyiola Omisore at the Presidential Villa, Abuja
The Adamu and Omisore arrived at the Aso Rock Villa a few minutes before 5pm, and were ushered into the President’s office shortly afterwards.
The meeting followed after the party distanced itself from the principal officers of the 10th National Assembly announced on Tuesday by President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.
But they left the seat of power without speaking to the press. However, credible sources said the visit was not unconnected with the rumble over the selection of principal officers.
