Why Senate President Akpabio Hurriedly Called For Emergency Closed-door Session
By Rita Elenwo
The Senate on Tuesday afternoon abruptly halted its scheduled proceedings for the day and went into an emergency closed-door session.
The development, ordered by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, followed a walkout from the chamber by the Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, after Akpabio ruled him out of order.
Ndume had cited Order 54 of the Senate Standing Orders to raise a point of order on the way and manner Akpabio was directing the proceedings of the Senate.
He drew the attention of the Senate President to his handling of affairs in the chambers, which he said were not in consonance with the rules.
Ndume said: “Mr. President, there are some things we do in this chamber that are against the rules. Sir, nobody is too big to learn….”
At this point, Akpabio interjected and called for a copy of the Senate Standing Orders.
He proceeded to read Order 54 and said it did not support the point Ndume was making and thereafter ruled the Principal Officer out of order.
Upon the action of the Senate President, Ndume, who was visibly angry, packed his files and papers on his desk and stormed out of the Chamber and went straight to his office.
The Chief Whip was just settling down when he received a call from a colleague to return to the chamber for an executive session.
The executive session was still ongoing as of the time of filing this report.
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