The Senate has denied claims that during a recent executive session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele got into a fight.
The claims were described as baseless and misleading in a statement issued on Sunday by Senator Yemi Adaramodu, the head of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs.
Adaramodu said that the reports misrepresented regular parliamentary processes as signs of internal conflict.
“Our attention has been drawn to various media reports that state that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele fought during an executive session recently held to discuss whether the Senate should proceed on annual recess,” the statement said.
According to the Senate spokesperson, vigorous debate remains a hallmark of parliamentary democracy and does not indicate disunity among members.
“The Senate, as our country’s highest law-making institution, is not different in any way. Like other parliaments, every bill, motion and proposal is always subjected to intense scrutiny in our Chamber almost on a daily basis.
‘This entails robust debates to which members discuss and dissect every initiative before the Senate purely in the interest of over 230 million Nigerians,” he said.
Adaramodu stressed that the deliberations, whether in plenary or committee sessions, should not be mistaken for personal altercations or signs of division within the Senate leadership.
“Whether in the chamber or committee room, debates on policy issues should not be misconstrued as altercations among members, neither do they suggest any crack in the rank of the leadership,” he concluded.
