Fresh controversy has erupted in the Senate following remarks by Edo North senator, Adams Oshiomhole, who warned that Senate President Godswill Akpabio could lose his position if the newly amended Senate rules are fully enforced.
Oshiomhole spoke in Abuja on Thursday while reacting to recent changes made to the Senate Standing Orders.
The former Edo State governor described the new eligibility conditions for principal offices in the Senate as unfair and politically motivated.
According to him, the amended rules create what he called a “moral crisis” because the same conditions being introduced would disqualify Akpabio from occupying the office of Senate President.
“This rule has serious moral crisis. The senate president became minority leader on his first term. He is now the one presiding and asking us to change those rules even those who have done one term can’t even contest,” Oshiomhole said.
The senator argued that under the revised framework, any senator seeking to become Senate President must have completed at least two uninterrupted and consecutive terms in the chamber.
He maintained that Akpabio himself does not meet that requirement.
“As we speak today, the senate president has not done eight years in office even if you count the previous one plus the current one.
“So if we pass the rule that we must do eight consecutive years before you can become senate president, it means he has to leave by example by vacating because he is presiding without acquiring the appropriate qualification,” he added.
Oshiomhole also criticised attempts to alter long-standing parliamentary traditions to suit certain political interests. He referenced former Senate President David Mark, who led the upper chamber for eight years under the previous rules.
“More offensive to me is that as leaders who are products of by-laws, we must not make laws to perpetrate anyone. David Mark had the honour and privilege of serving as senate president for eight years, not by playing by the rules.
“Those rules that enabled David Mark to preside for eight years, what happened to them? Why changing them now because he fears that more senators will be eligible which will broaden the competitive base. So he wants to soak it. If other people are afraid, I am not afarid. I am only afraid of my creator,” Oshiomhole stated.
The comments have further intensified debates within the National Assembly over the controversial amendment passed earlier in the week.
Under the revised Senate Standing Orders, only lawmakers who have spent at least two consecutive terms in the Senate can contest for principal offices, including Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Senate Leader and Minority Leader.
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