- Says budget padding allegation a civilian coup
The Senate Leader, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central), yesterday raised an alarm that aggrieved senators have concluded plans to unseat Godswill Akpabio as Senate president before June 13.
Bamidele attributed the crisis the 10th Senate has witnessed since its inception last June as part of the grand plan against the southern part of the country where the Senate president comes from.
He spoke on Tuesday during a debate on the allegation by Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) that the 2024 budget was padded with a whopping N3.7 trillion.
The Senate, during a debate on Ningi's allegation, was thrown into a rowdy session, and at a point, a shouting match ensued among angry senators.
But the Senate Leader, when given an opportunity to comment after the order was restored, insisted that what Senator Ningi did was tantamount to a civilian coup with the intent to remove Akpabio as Senate President.
He urged his colleagues not to accept any apology from Senator Ningi but to sanction him.
Bamidele said, "I stand with due respect to say that what my big brother, Senator Abdul Ningi, whom I respect so well, planned to do or set out to do was tantamount to a civilian coup, which has failed.
"In doing this, he wanted to use the name of the Northern Senators Forum. God bless the members of the forum who have dissociated themselves from the allegation.
"Over 60 senators voted for Godswill Akpabio, and over 40 voted against him. Some of those who voted against Akpabio had moved on and agreed to work with him, saying the election was over. A few have refused to do this.
"That's why it is always about Akpabio, never about the Senate, never about the House of Representatives, never about the Budget Office, never about the President who signed this budget. It is always about Akpabio.
"Mr. President (Akpabio), make no mistake about it; a few people who felt they would not give you more than one year to spend on the seat want to do everything possible before the 13th of June to remove you.
"I'm telling you, Mr. President, and I want Nigerians to know that the last time the people of South South, whom you represent, had a chance to be Senate President was over 40 years ago.
"The last time the entire people of the South had a chance to be Senate President was during the Obasanjo regime. When it went to the South East, five people were elected because they were impeached in quick succession.
"But as soon as it left the South and returned to the North, we had peace and stability again because we always cooperated. David Mark spent eight years, and Senator Ahmad Lawan spent four peaceful years. Bukola Saraki, even with all he did, spent four years; he was not impeached.
"It is about Akpabio; it is about the South. You can now understand why Senator Ningi would want to use the name of the Northern Senators Forum, even though most of the members did not agree to this.
"We must never accept any apology from Senator Ningi. He did it on purpose. We must apply our sanction."
It was observed that while no senators replied directly to Bamidele's allegations, there were loud murmurings all through the period he spoke, indicating reserved disagreement or agreement with the position he was putting forward.
Daily Trust reports that Akpabio's Senate presidency has been dogged with controversies since its inception last June.
Akpabio emerged as the Senate President in June 2023 in a fierce battle with Senator Abdulaziz Yari, who was backed by mainly opposition senators and some Northern lawmakers.
Since then, the acrimony, birthed by the rancorous leadership tussle, has refused to fizzle out.
The Senate president drew the ire of Nigerians after his August 7, 2023 "holiday enjoyment allowance" remark made the rounds on social media.
The "holiday bonus" comment came weeks after the lawmakers were allocated N70 billion to support their "working conditions" in an amended 2022 supplementary appropriation act, which also drew public criticism.
Also, during a long recess last August, there were reports of alleged moves by some disgruntled lawmakers, mostly from the North, to remove Akpabio as Senate president.
But the anti-Akpabio senators accused the Senate president of pitching them against President Bola Tinubu by orchestrating what they called an imaginary impeachment plot.
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Senator Elisha Ishaku Abbo (Adamawa), who had been sacked from the Senate by the court, claimed that loyalists of the Senate president sponsored the report to set northern senators against President Tinubu.
But the camp of the Senate president claimed that some rivals regrouped against him, using as a reason his failure to check the alleged lopsided appointments by the president in favour of the Yoruba, especially in the financial sector.
The Senate, under Akpabio, also courted another controversy when it debated the 2024 budget and passed it for a second reading without the lawmakers having the breakdown of the fiscal document.
Many senators kicked against going ahead with the budget until they were given its details but the budget was passed for a second reading despite opposition from many lawmakers.
In a move to douse the controversy, the Senate Appropriations Committee hurriedly released a few details, including sectoral allocations, while the Budget Ministry a few days later released the full budget breakdown.
The 2024 budget, which had thrown the 10th Senate into crisis, was passed in a record 31 days after President Tinubu presented it on November 29.
