National Telescope national telescope newspaper
Senators clashed over seats at a boisterous meeting that greeted the Senate’s return to plenary on Tuesday.
The plenary commenced at 11 a.m., and right after the procession, Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the birthdays of lawmakers that occurred while the Senate was on break.
During the announcement, Senator Sahabi Yau from Zamfara North raised his voice at Senate leader Opeyemi Bamidele from Ekiti Central, prompting a stern exchange where fingers were pointed.
Immediately, Danjuma Goje from Gombe Central joined Yau in expressing their discontent towards Bamidele and Sunday Karimi, the chairman of Senate Services responsible for seating arrangements.
The recent altercation reportedly stemmed from a disagreement over seating arrangements in the recently refurbished legislative chamber.
According to sources, certain senior senators expressed frustration over their assigned seats located in the front row, specifically on the far right side of the aisle.
The Senate President finally instructed them to come forward to the chair one by one, but Yau refused to comply, causing a noisy session that lasted about 20 minutes as senators continued to argue.
After the Senate President delivered his welcome-back speech, the Senate leader proposed that the Senate move into a closed-door session. Subsequently, the Senate transitioned into an executive session around 12:05 p.m.
Recall that the Senate, after adjourning plenary on March 20 until April 16, has delayed its return twice to accommodate the ongoing renovation of the chamber, which began in 2022.
