The Senate Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume has submitted that he is more experienced in parliamentary matters than the current Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Speaking on Sunday during an appearance on Channels Television Sunday Politics, the Borno federal lawmaker however said he is not working against Akpabio or trying to remove him from office because he can’t destroy the house he built.
Speaking against the backdrop of the recent episode on the floor of the Senate in which Akpabio ruled him out of order while he was trying to correct the Senate President, Ndume said Akpabio should have invited him for a one-on-one chat.
According to him, a Senate President should not overrule his Chief Whip.
Ndume however said his leaving the chamber after he was ruled out of order was not due to anger but because it was time to pray. He added that people should not take the matter out of context.
“My problem is the way he handled the situation and what happened the last time was misunderstood or taken out of context. Don’t forget that I fought here, campaigned for Akpabio. You can’t build a house and destroy it,” Ndume said.
“The main problem is that I’m more experienced than him. When I tried to correct him… you don’t overrule your chief whip.
“At that time, he was supposed to invite me then we would talk more one-on-one but he took advantage of the gavel and it was 12:30 pm and I needed to go and pray.”
Ndume was first elected senator in 2011, while Akpabio was first elected into the senate in 2015.
