Senate Majority Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, made a shocking revelation on Monday that some senators are scheming to unseat Senator Godswill Akpabio as Senate President.
Bamidele, representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, said this during a debate on a motion on allegation by the suspended Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, Senator Abdul Ningi.
Ningi during an interview with BBC Hausa at the weekend, claimed that a whopping N3.7 trillion was padded in the 2024 budget, a development that angered some of the senators.
Speaking on the controversial statement by Ningi, which has generated public outrage on social media, Bamidele said the 10th Senate has been battling crises since its inauguration in June, attributing it to a plot by some Red Chamber lawmakers to remove Akpabio.
The Ekiti senator said the Senate presidents that had preceded Akpabio such as David Mark, Bukola Saraki, and Ahmad Lawan had peaceful tenures, but when it was the turn of the South, some senators were trying to unseat him.
Speaking furiously about the persistent crisis rocking the Senate, Bamidele said the last time a lawmaker from South-South was Senate President was about 40 years ago.
He also said what Senator Ningi did was tantamount to a civilian coup, which has failed.
Bamidele said, “I thanked members of the Northern Senators Forum who have debunked Ningi’s claim. Over 60 senators voted for Akpabio and over 40 voted against him. Some of those who voted against Akpabio had moved on and agreed to work with Akpabio. Some did not.
“Why are all these controversies always about Akpabio? A few people want to do everything possible to remove you (Akpabio) from that seat. The last time the South-South had the chance to be Senate President was over 40 years ago.
“Senators Ahmad Lawan and David Mark had peaceful tenures as Senate Presidents. Even Senator Bukola Saraki, with all he did, served out his tenure.
“Why are these controversies all about Akpabio? Senator Ningi wants to use the name of Northern Senators Forum against Akpabio.”