Senators Tackle Akpabio Over Choice Of Senate Minority Leaders

There was an uproar in the Senate on Tuesday following the announcement of two minority leaders by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The seats of the Senate Minority Leader and Minority Whip became vacant after the Court of Appeal sacked the former occupants, Senator Simon Davou Mwadkwon (PDP, Plateau North) and Darlington Nwokocha (LP, Abia Central) respectively.

During Tuesday’s plenary, Akpabio announced the duo of Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South) as minority leader and Osita Ngwu (PDP, Enugu West) as minority whip.

The Senate President said the new minority leaders had the majority support of their colleagues in the opposition.

He said 41 minority senators signed the document endorsing Moro as minority leader while 30 backed Ngwu for the minority whip seat. The announcement did not sit well with other parties in the minority caucus, especially the Labour Party.

Raising a point of order, Senator Okechukwu Ezea (LP, Enugu North), protested the absence of his party in the minority leadership, describing the arrangement as an injustice against other minority parties.

The Senate after that degenerated into a rowdy session with LP lawmakers rejecting their party’s exclusion in the minority leadership.

Amid the uproar, Senator Tony Nwoyi (LP, Anambra North) accused Akpabio of picking minority leaders for the opposition parties.

“How can you be choosing minority leaders for us? Are we your slaves?” Nwoyi tackled the Senate President. Lawmakers from the ruling party made frantic efforts to pacify their colleagues from LP, some of whom approached Akpabio for consultation.

Credit: Punch