A heated battle among senators over seating arrangements on Tuesday disrupted the first day of the Senate’s session in the newly restored red chamber.
According to information obtained by Wakadaily, the National Assembly’s two chambers were formally reopened on Tuesday following almost two years of refurbishment work.
Lawmakers were use temporary rooms in both National Assembly wings while renovations were underway.
They resumed in the renovated Chambers on Tuesday after the project was finished ahead of their forty-day break.
However, issues arose in the Senate when Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, began reading the names of Senators who had birthdays during the break.
Sen. Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u (APC, Zamfara North) just furiously got up from his assigned seat to complain to Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), the Senate Leader.
His accusations to Bamidele began quietly, turned into a yelling war between the two of them, which prompted responses from other Senators, and finally intensified into a boisterous meeting that lasted for almost thirty minutes.
Pointing his finger at the Senate Leader, Senator Ya’u expressed his vehement dissatisfaction with his new seat, which was assigned to him in the far right corner of the chamber. Ya’u, a ranking senator, who previously served as the Senate’s Deputy Minority Whip during the 9th National Assembly.
Senator Danjuma Goje (APC, Gombe Central) into the fray, exacerbating the verbal sparring between the Senate Leader and Senator Ya’u.
Goje also expressed dissatisfaction to Bamidele on the ranking Senators’ poor placement under the new seating arrangement.
In an attempt to resolve the situation, the Senate President called on the Senate Leader and the irate senators encircling him to approach him. When everything had returned to normal, Akpabio was able to deliver his welcome message.
Following Senator Akpabio’s welcome speech, the Senate Leader summoned an urgent closed-door meeting, ostensibly to release pent-up frustration among Senators.
