It was a day where old foes squared up during plenary in the senate as the immediate past president of the senate, Ahmad Lawan, firmly opposed his successor, Godswill Akpabio when the latter proposed that the red chamber only sit for two hours only during each legislative day.
To the astonishment of many senators and Lawan in particular, Akpabio offered no credible reason, and the fact that that proposition could be thought of and considered then tabled before the senators was shocking.
In earnest, the motion to alter the legal time as provided by the rule of the senate was brought forward by Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, as is traditional for a senator occupying his position to do.
Soon after Bamidele tabled his proposal for amendment, Lawan was quick to speak and opposed the proposal describing it as illogical.
According to him, the reason adduced by the senate leader that the sitting time should be changed to conform with the time the House of Representatives sits at 11 am was “unscientific” and “unconvincing”.
“The explanation that the change was to enable the Senate to synchronise its sitting time with that of the House of Representatives is not saleable to senators,” Lawan stated.
According to Lawan, lawmakers are more energetic and alert during the early part of the day, and so moving forward the sitting time to 11am to accommodate Akpabio’s inability to observe the simple rule of the senate was in the least troubling.
He said by the time the senate convenes for the day’s legislative work, they would have been tired two hours in.
He stressed that Akpabio’s proposal fell flat in the face of reason and practicality as if observed, would stifle works of the committees that are supposed to seat by 3pm, a time when committees should be actively working.
Akpabio pushed back the argument blaming Lawan for the senate’s habitual late sitting as what has now become a tradition of the 10th Senate was inherited from Lawan’s 9th Senate.
A visibly angry Lawan fought back and refuted the claim, declaring, “No, that is not correct!”
Surprisingly, Akpabio added that the senate can start its sitting at 11am and terminate at 1pm as it does not necessarily mean sitting beyond 3pm.
It turned into a back and forth argument forcing the bewildered senate leader to intervene with a fresh explanation that the shift from 10am to 11am was due to multiple engagements, which he said include oversight duties and committee assignments.
He said the engagements often keep the lawmakers working late into the night, making a 10am resumption challenging.
Afterwards, Akpabio called for an executive session to address the issues privately to calm the rising tension.
Akpabio since becoming the president of the senate has been, many times, criticised for starting plenary by 11am sometimes after mid-day, a sharp departure from the previous senate.
The Senate Standing Rule states that plenary starts at 10am on every legislative day and terminates at 2pm.
According to Rule 8 sub-section (2) of the Senate Standing Rule (as amended), “On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, the Senate shall meet at 10am and unless previously adjourned shall sit until 2pm, unless before a substantive motion had been moved by the Leader of the Senate or a Senator acting in that capacity ‘that this Senate do now adjourn’ and if such a motion be moved and if the question thereon has not previously been determined, at 2pm the President of the Senate shall adjourn the Senate without question being put.”
Unfortunately, Akpabio who some of his colleagues say operates without observing the rule book, which offends their sensibilities, as they most times sit for almost two hours waiting, do not complain for fear of being reprimanded.
Some lawmakers complain privately and often say the former Akwa Ibom State governor does not apologise for lateness and “feels all is well.”
His habitual lateness has forced some lawmakers to exit sitting, THE WHISTLER gathered. For instance, some lawmakers left the floor on Wednesday 15 November, when plenary did not commence until 12:01pm.
Similarly, on Tuesday 21 November, some lawmakers left while a few later returned when plenary started at 11:42am.
It was a similar experience on Wednesday November 29, when the plenary started at 11:41am.
Lawan and Akpabio, even though, are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), are political rivals.
Lawan had unsuccessfully aspired to win the senate presidency for the second time in 2023, a move that was directly against Akpabio’s ambition, having been anointed by the presidency.
Since then, both top politicians in the APC do not see eye to eye.
However, after the closed-door sitting, Akpabio had his way and announced that the senate amended its resumption time for plenary from 10am to 11am.
The upper chamber also amended its closing hours from 2pm to 3pm.
Daggers Drawn As Lawan Opposes Akpabio’s Bid For Senate To Hold Plenary Only Two Hours is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
