Senate President Godswill Akpabio has emphatically denied the existence of a crisis in the Senate. He made this clarification following a recent incident where a heated exchange took place between himself and the Senate’s Chief Whip, Ali Ndume on the Senate floor.
Akpabio clarified his stance during a visit to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to him, disagreement in the Parliament is a normal phenomenon in any democratic setting.
He stressed that disagreements and robust debates within the Parliament are a natural part of any democratic system. He described the Senate as a body comprised of mature individuals committed to working collaboratively with the Executive branch to advance the country.
He said, “Sometimes you disagree to agree. We are all working in one accord. There is no problem at all. Even if some people disagree on some of the happenings in the senate, still, it is only the majority decision that is going to prevail and the parliament is like that.
“But we will never get to the point of throwing chairs. We will never get to that point. The senate is too mature, full of mature people, so, if we have a disagreement, we immediately go into a closed session, resolve it and come out smiling.
“We are politicians, no permanent hatred but permanent interest. That interest is the interest of the nation. To support the President, support his administration in legislation, oversight functions to succeed, in order to move the country forward and that is what we have been doing and that is what we are committed to doing.”
He said he was in the State House “to inform the President of the first 10th Assembly retreat which is taking place tomorrow (today) in Akwa Ibom State and to solicit his support towards ensuring representation at the retreat and that he had graciously done that.
“I told him some of the things we are going to discuss – task reform and ways of ensuring the generation of revenue for him to work for Nigerians.
“He needs to be informed that the Senate will not be available in Abuja. We are moving the Senate all the way to Akwa Ibom for the next four days.
“Thereafter, I will be travelling personally to Angola to attend the internal parliamentary union. So, before he sees me, it will probably take another nine days. So, I needed to inform him,” he added.