Some senators have reportedly withdrawn their support for former Akwa Ibom Governor Godswill Akpabio ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly.
Sumaila Kawu, a senator-elect from Kano State, warned President Bola Tinubu against interfering in the election of the presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly’s two chambers.
The withdrawal of support for Akpabio, according to a senator-elect who spoke to Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, was based on his previous accusations that the National Assembly was rife with corruption.
He explained that it was absurd for Akpabio to preside over an institution that he had previously described as a cesspool of corruption.
He said:
I have withdrawn support for Senator Akpabio. It is not only me. Many of us have withdrawn our support and it will show on the floor
I used to have very high regard for Senator Akpabio as a person but I cannot support him to be the Senate President.
How can he (Akpabio) come and preside over an institution which he once described as a cesspit of corruption after benefitting from the same institution?
On his part, Kawu said:
The constitution is explicit about how the president and deputy president of the Senate shall be elected. For instance, Chapter 2 of the 9th Standing Orders of the Senate 2022 (as amended) stipulates the procedures for the selection of presiding officers of the Senate.
Similarly, Section 50(1)a of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended) states that, ‘there shall be a President and Deputy President of the Senate, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.
Also, section 50(1)b stipulates that, ‘A Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.
It is therefore clear that the election of these Presiding Officers is purely an internal affair that concerns only members of the National Assembly and therefore, they should be allowed to decide who among them would occupy the positions in order to avoid repetition of the past mistakes – we may all recall the incidences of the 7th and 8th National Assembly.