Drama In Senate As Ndume Stages Walkout After Clash With Akpabio

Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, the Chief Whip of the Senate, raised a point of order regarding alleged errors committed by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

The specific error he mentioned was related to a motion brought by Senator Summaila Kawu for a debate on the reopening of the Nigerian-Niger border. Ndume claimed that the motion did not state its title. Ndume requested that any errors observed during the session be corrected in line with the Senate's rules and procedures. [caption id="attachment_12995" align="alignnone" width="1140"] Ali Ndume stages walkout after fall out with Akpabio. Photo: PM News[/caption] Senate President Akpabio interrupted Ndume, stating that once he had ruled on the issues raised, they could not be revisited. As a result, he ruled Ndume out of order. Senator Sunday Karimi attempted to support Ndume's argument using another point of order but was also ruled out of order by Senate President Akpabio. Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau, intervened by reading order 16, which requires a substantive motion to be moved by any Senator for the correction or review of a prior decision. Akpabio agreed with Barau's point of order, which further angered Ndume. In response, Ndume raised another point of order (order 54) to seek the correction of the perceived error, Vanguard reports. The Senate President ruled Ndume out of order once again without allowing him to fully present his argument. Angered by Akpabio’s decision, Ndume, packed his documents and furiously stormed out of the chamber. Apparently, perplexed by the scenario, Senators hurriedly went into the closed-door session, which is still on, as at the time of filling this report. https://twitter.com/Imranmuhdz/status/1714257741798105599 Recall that in July, the emergence of principal officers in the 10th National Assembly left the APC divided. The National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC distanced itself from the majority leadership positions announced by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.