Impeachment Hoax and Confidence Vote in Senate

The Red Chamber last Thursday laid to rest the rising tension occasioned by an alleged plot to remove Senator Godswill Akpabio as Senate President by unanimously passing a confidence vote in him but keen watchers of the development at the upper chamber insist  something was actually amiss, reports Sunday Aborisade.

Watching the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau, presiding over plenary last Tuesday was not unusual because his principal, Senator Godswill Akpabio, had gone for an International Parliamentary event in Geneva, Switzerland.

What actually came as a surprise to newsmen covering the red chamber was the unusual late commencement of plenary on Wednesday.

Senators were seen in groups within the chamber, discussing among themselves amid speculation that the day’s plenary  would be presided over by Akpabio, who was said to have returned from Switzerland, a earlier.

As the movements and actions of the federal lawmakers within the chamber was causing confusion and creating tension, an online platform, Order Paper, went to town with a story that the National Assembly premises had been invaded by operatives of the Department of State Service, to provide security amid alleged plot by some  senators to impeach Akpabio.

Many reporters rushed outside the gallery from where they were monitoring the day’s proceedings only to discover that there was no unusual security beef up apart from the regular DSS operatives who had been drafted to the nation’s parliament to support the Sergeant-at-arms, the police and other paramilitary officers, to provide security.

Back in the chamber, Akpabio presided over the plenary and the day’s proceedings commenced.

However, midway into the session, the Senate President, drew the attention of his colleagues to the online publication, describing it as fake and insisted that the news items must be probed.

He subsequently, directed the Committee on Special Duties, chaired by Senator Shehu Kaka, to investigate the alleged moves by some disgruntled senators to impeach him.

Akpabio dismissed the story as fake and insisted that the red chamber was stable and that his position was not being threatened.

According to him“We are here sitting down doing your work very peacefully, oblivious of the report that is going on behind us.”

After a brief consultation, the Senate President said the red chamber had resolved to probe the news and he referred it to the Committee on Special Duties.

His words: “The fake news is hereby refered to the committee on special duty to report back in 24 hours. That is part of those things we pass through on a daily basis. They use AI to drag traffic or get paid on YouTube. I hope the public realise that this is fake. Senator Kaka,  please investigate and get back to us as soon as possible.”

Immediately after the plenary, the Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, Abdulaziz Yar’adua and the spokesperson for the Senate, Yemi Adaramodu, addressed journalists and maintained that the news on the impeachment was actually fake.

A principal officer also told THISDAY on condition of anonymity that the return of Akpabio from the international parliamentary forum in Geneva, Switzerland, had nothing to do with the alleged impeachment move.

The ranking Senator said, “The Senate President told us last week that he would only travel to the IPU event to attend the opening session. It is not true that the Senate President hurriedly rushed back home from Geneva. No, far from it.”

The matter nevertheless, resurfaced the following day when senators at plenary on Thursday passed a vote of confidence in the leadership of the Senate led by Akpabio.

The resolution followed a motion by a former Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, who raised a point of order to draw the attention of his colleagues to a news report which indicated that northern senators were plotting to impeach Akpabio.

Abdullahi, who is representing Kebbi North Senatorial District, denied his involvement, or that of any member of the Northern Senators Forum in the alleged plot.

He said, “I am a senior member of the Northern Senators’ Forum and I can assure you that there is no attempt by any caucus among the northern senators  to bring discord or any attempt to challenge the unity of what you are doing in the Senate.

“My privilege has been breached. Anybody trying to bring division across any regional line is undermining the progress of our democracy and undermining the capacity of this institution to deliver the dividend of democracy in this country.

“Therefore, we must rise and get united under the leadership to ensure that this kind of discourse is completely negated, so that the kind of unity that we have forged in the last 18 months can be sustained and fully accomplished.

“I’m sure all my colleagues also feel the same for us to be characterized as either promoting or supporting or allowing anybody to bring the leadership of this institution down.

“I have never in my life associate with anybody in order to bring or to divide any institution along ethnic or traditional lines.

“I think this is the work of some enemies which should be resisted and all of us should stand united behind the Senate leadership to make sure that this institution is preserved.”

In his contribution, Senator Abdul Ningi, who is representing Bauchi Central, said accusing fingers were being pointed at some of them wheares there was nothing like that.

He said, “I think it is important for some of us that are probably being seen as the front liners, to come out and pass a vote of confidence in the Senate President and the entire leadership. I’m very positive that this is the way to go about it. Anybody who wants to create a problem, should go out and create by themselves and not on behalf of the northern senators.

“So I move that on behalf of the northern senators, that we pass vote of confidence in the leadership of the President and the entire Senate leadership, as we resolve to move as one group, as shown here.”

The leader of the minority caucus in the chamber, after a few arguments among his colleagues, decided to amend the prayers to incorporate all the senators in the chambers.

The Senate President who presided over the plenary, put the prayer to a voice vote and majority of the members supported the motion that all the senators pass a vote of confidence in the Senate President.

Akpabio after the confidence vote, commended his colleagues for the confidence they reposed in him.

He said, “On behalf of my brother, the Deputy Senate President, and the entire  leadership,

I assure you that the cooperation and the bond existing between us and the Senate will continue. No amount of people, no social media will come here to break that bond. I thank you for this, and we are very humbled.

We are confident in this place, in the coming months, and in the coming years, we will justify the confidence that you have placed in us”.

There has been no sign of any possible impeachment plot in the red chamber since the 10th National Assembly amended its rules to bar non ranking members from contesting as presiding officers.

A former governor of Zamfara State, who is representing Zamfara West Senatorial District in the 10th National Assembly, who contested the Senate presidency with Akpabio, is not a ranking senator, hence pushing him forward to replace Akpabio would be going against the rule of the federal lawmakers.

All eyes are now on the Senator Kaka’s panel to commence sitting on the matter and probably submit the report of its findings for the Senate to consider.