By Daniel Edu
On Tuesday, October 17, Senate President Godswill Akpabio called for an impromptu closed-door session during the Senate’s plenary proceedings. This unusual move followed the walkout by Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, after Senate President Godswill Akpabio ruled him out of order.
Ndume had cited order 54 of the Senate Standing Orders to raise a point of order. He expressed concerns about the Senate president’s conduct in the chambers, which, in his view, did not align with the established rules.
Ndume stated, “Mr. President, there are some things we do in this chamber that are against the rules. Sir, nobody is too big to learn…”
Akpabio intervened at this point, requesting a copy of the Standing Orders. He proceeded to read order 54 and contended that it did not support the point Ndume was making, subsequently ruling him out of order.
Expressing his frustration, Ndume collected his papers and files, visibly upset, and left the chamber, proceeding to his office. However, he received a call from a colleague, instructing him to return to the chamber for an executive session.
The closed-door executive session was ongoing at the time of this report.
