THE SENATE has passed a vote of confidence in the leadership of its President, Sen. Godswill Akpabio.
This followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC-Ekiti), at plenary on Thursday. The motion was seconded by Deputy Minority Leader, Olalere Oyewumi (PDP-Osun).
In his motion of urgent national importance, Bamidele, citing Orders 41 and 51 of the Senate Standing Order, hinged the vote of confidence on Akpabio’s performance since the inauguration of 10th Senate, in spite of the sexual harassment narrative.
He said that the issue before the senate, as of the time it was referred to the Ethics and Privileges Committee, had nothing to do with sexual harassment.
“Some of the critics who have said this senate allowed Akpabio to be a judge of his own course and to preside over his own matter need to be told.
“With all due respect, the matter before us and on which Sen. Godswill Akpabio presided over as the President of the Senate had to do with a motion that was referred to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition.
“While we appreciate the concern of the public on this matter, I just want to emphasise that it is important that we also seek the understanding of the judgments.
“It is important to the general public that we were elected to serve the people, and we are guided, whatever we do in this chamber, we are guided by rules.
“It is not a rule of men, it is a rule of law; it is not about some men trying to gang up against a woman or anybody, it is about ensuring that our rules are respected; that is the only way we can guarantee peace, law and order.
“Again, some of the critics have also said we have no right to even suspend a member of this senate. I will leave that within the context of jurisprudence, as the court will always speak to that.
“But it is very clear on our rules as to how far we can go and we are not of the opinion that we are in breach of either the constitution or any of our rules,” he said.
Bamidele urged Nigerians not to be distracted with the issue of allegation of sexual harassment, adding that the matter was already in the court.
According to him, while the senate appreciates the concerns of the public on the matter, it is, however, guided by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and its rules in the discharge of its duties.
He said that the senate would not be distracted by the issue, but would continue to concentrate on its mandate, as there were pressing matters to be attended to for the good of the country.
“We are going to continue to work together as a government to ensure that the people of Nigeria have equal participation in our democratic activities.
“We are working as a group, as a government, to ensure that we bring economic wealth,” he said.
In his remarks, Akpabio, while thanking his colleagues for the vote of confidence passed in him, said that the 10th senate was bounded in purpose for the interest of Nigeria.
He said that Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan had embarrassed the country by distorting the facts about her suspension at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting, saying that she gave a false narrative of the issue. (NAN)
