President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio has said the suspension of the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, is a settled case and would not be reversed, despite criticisms from chieftains of the opposition parties....Read Full Article >>➤
Akpabio made the remarks at the weekend while addressing a delegation of the Niger Delta Ethnic Nationalities Youth Leaders Forum which paid him a solidarity visit in Abuja.
Recall that Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months on Thursday by the Senate, sequel to the adoption of recommendations of its Committee on Ethics, Privileges, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions. Akpabio expressed disappointment over comments attributed to certain chieftains of the
opposition parties whom he claimed were ignorant of the rules of the upper legislative chamber.
The President of the Senate, who argued that there was no dissenting voice on the floor of the Senate, maintained that the decision to axe the Senator representing Kogi Central was unanimous.
He said:”You should try to go and know the fact before you start running commentaries on television. So we will advise members of the public to desist from running commentaries on things that they do not know, misquoting the rules of the Senate.”
Akpabio also vowed that the South South region would not surrender the exalted seat of the Senate no matter the level of gang up in certain quarters.
“The Senate President of today is not representing himself alone. He is representing a people who are very crucial to the economic life wire of this country.
“So when people gang up and conspire, I hear voices from Adamawa shouting, I hear voices from Kwara State shouting, I hear some young people from the southwest being used for something they don’t know, they don’t know the rules of the Senate, you can’t be a herbalist and start quoting the Bible, you won’t know what to quote.
“If you have not studied the Bible or you have nothing to do with Christianity, you cannot claim to know the bible more than the Pope. In the same vein, if you are not an Imam, you cannot begin to quote the Quran.
“But you see people who are not well informed, sitting down just like they do, like football commentators, and then they will say Ronaldo should have come from the left to score and that if you were Messi, you would have kicked from the centre. Then you do commentaries on the Television.
“But things that have to do with the hallowed chamber of the National Assembly, you cannot begin to quote what you have never seen. It is only when you are elected to be a senator or a member of the House of Representatives, after your inauguration, the first thing that will be given to you is the Red Book.
“That Red Book contains the Standing Orders that will maintain discipline and decorum and also show you step by step approach to lawmaking which you must study and follow. In the House of Representatives, they will give you a Green Book to signify the Green Chamber.
“But when people are not well informed about the procedures and begin to debate about the provisions they don’t know, sometimes it worries me.
“So your concern about the current situation is well understood. We have our internal mechanism of settling issues and this issue, we have settled and we will continue to settle.”
Earlier in his remarks,President of Ijaw Youth Council, Jonathan Lokpobiri, said the visit was informed by recent development in the Red Chamber and assured Senator Akpabio of the support of the people of the region.
Lokpobiri also pleaded with Akpabio to use his good offices to intervene in the political crisis in Rivers State, the Coastal road project anx and the Maritime University in Oron which is yet to take off and the possibility of extending the Warri – Itakpe rail line to Abuja.
On the Rivers State crisis, Akpabio told the delegation that, he and other senators from the Niger Delta would take up their request and see how they could bring peace to Rivers State particularly, and any other sub national needing similar intervention.
Akpabio said their concerns regarding the Coastal Road project had already been addressed by the President but further assured them that all other concerns which they have raised would be addressed.
Be the first to comment