Senate Rules Amedment: Akpabio Trying to Turn Nigeria Into a Dictatorship Like Cameroon- Sen Oshiomhole
The lawmaker representing Edo North in the Senate, Senator Adams Oshiomhole has reiterated that the “fight” with the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio over the later’s attempt to amend the Senate Standing Rules to exclude some lawmakers may not be over yet.
Akpabio who spoke to Arise TV on Tuesday on the issue which saw senators sharply criticising Akpabio said that Akpabio’s decision was unconstitutional and aimed at shutting out lawmakers from expressing their legitimate ambitions.
Sen. Oshiomole while taking a swipe at the Senate President noted that by Akpabio’s intended new rule, himself (Akpabio) was not qualified to preside over the Senate as he lacks the qualification to lead the Red Chamber.
The Edo lawmaker noted that the current Senate President served a 4-year term, lost his reelection bid, served as a minister, and returned this term to become Senate President again.
According to him, “If you add his first term to his current term, he still has not served 8 years. If 8 years is the minimum requirement, Sen. Akpabio does not qualify to preside because he has not met it.
“If he assumed the role in error, that error must be corrected. Also, the word “consecutively” effectively reduces the Senate President’s term to three years for ranking purposes.
The Edo North lawmaker who was a former National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as well as former two term governor of Edo State warned that what Akpabio tried to do was what gave birth to lifetime dictators in some African countries
“These kinds of laws are what breed dictatorship in Africa,” Oshiomhole said.
Akpabio had sought to amend Orders 4 and 5 of the Senate Rules to make compulsory that any senator seeking to contest for a position of presiding officer, the President of the Senate and Deputy President of the Senate to have completed a “successive” two terms leading to the point of contesting. In other words, such a lawmaker must be a third [unbroken] senator.
Senator Oshiomole warned that laws must never be with any particular individuals in mind to avoid entrenching dictators in Nigeria like the case is in our neighbouring country (Cameroon).