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Oshiomhole: If we go by new rule, Akpabio not qualified to be Senate President
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Senator Adams Oshiomhole on Thursday declared that Senate President Godswill Akpabio would not qualify to occupy the position under the newly amended Senate leadership rules.
Speaking with journalists after Wednesday’s tense plenary session, Oshiomhole argued that if the new requirement mandating at least eight uninterrupted years in the Senate for presiding officers is applied fairly, Akpabio himself should not be occupying the office of Senate President.
The Edo North senator accused the Senate leadership of attempting to manipulate the rules to narrow the field of contenders for future leadership positions in the upper chamber.
“Let me explain why this raises a serious moral concern. The Senate President became Minority Leader on his very first day in office during the 8th Senate. He immediately became a principal officer,” Oshiomhole said.
“Now, he is the one presiding over the Senate and asking us to change those same rules.”
The former Edo State governor maintained that Akpabio had not completed eight years in the Senate despite the amendment requiring lawmakers to serve at least two consecutive terms before contesting for presiding offices.
“As we speak today, the Senate President has not spent up to eight years in office. Even if you combine his previous tenure with the current one, it is still not up to eight years.
“So, if we pass a rule requiring anyone to spend eight consecutive years before becoming Senate President, then he should lead by example by vacating the position, because he himself did not meet that qualification before presiding,” he said.
Oshiomhole further faulted the amendment, describing it as an attempt to alter long-standing parliamentary traditions for political convenience.
“As leaders who emerged through a process, we must not make laws to favour or perpetuate anyone in office,” he said.
“Senator David Mark had the honour and privilege of serving as Senate President for eight years, not by manipulating the rules.
“The same rules that enabled David Mark to preside over the Senate for eight years — what is wrong with them? The same rules that allowed the current Senate President to contest for the office — what is wrong with them? Why change them now?”
According to Oshiomhole, the amendment was specifically designed to reduce competition for future Senate leadership contests.
“Previously, the requirement was based on one-term ranking, and he happened to be the only senator from the South-South, where the position was zoned,” he said.
“Naturally, more senators would now become eligible, which would broaden the field of competition. And now he wants to shut that out.”
The senator also insisted he was not intimidated by the controversy surrounding the amendment.
“If others are afraid, I am not afraid. The only person I fear is my Creator, because I have realised that whether you tell the truth or lies, the date of death cannot be shifted forward or backward,” he added.
The remarks came barely 24 hours after a heated confrontation between Oshiomhole and Akpabio disrupted plenary proceedings in the Senate.
The clash followed the Senate’s adoption of amendments to its standing orders after a closed-door session that lasted nearly three hours.
Under the revised rules, only senators who have completed at least two consecutive terms — amounting to eight uninterrupted years — can contest for the offices of Senate President and Deputy Senate President.
The amendment to Order 4 further stipulates that nominations for presiding officers must strictly follow ranking, beginning from former Senate Presidents down to second-term senators.
Order 5 also provides that only senators who have served at least two consecutive terms are eligible to contest for principal offices in the chamber.
During Wednesday’s plenary, Oshiomhole repeatedly attempted to raise a point of order while Akpabio moved to confirm the votes and proceedings of the previous sitting.
Akpabio declined to recognise him, prompting the former labour leader to shout “point of order” several times even after his microphone was muted.
Efforts by Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Monguno to restore calm failed, forcing Akpabio to issue a stern warning.
“Oshiomhole, if you become unruly, we will use the rules to take you out of the Senate,” Akpabio warned during the tense exchange.
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2027 election: We’ll all battle to the finishing point, I won’t just surrender -Tinubu tells Atiku, others
President Bola Tinubu has said 2027 presidential election is going to be a battle he is ready to fight till the end.
He warned opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, that they must defeat him through the ballot box if they hope to unseat him.
The President made the remarks on Tuesday while receiving members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Speaking during the meeting, Tinubu said he was prepared for a fair democratic contest and insisted that politics is a competitive process where every contestant has an equal opportunity.
“Those who would take it from me will try. They will try. All is fair in politics, and there is equal opportunity. I won’t offer them a red carpet. I won’t offer them the leash to tie me at home. No, we will wrestle each other to the finishing point. That’s the truth.
That is fair in politics,” the President said. Tinubu also rejected allegations that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is biased, maintaining that the electoral body has remained impartial.
According to him, political opponents questioning the commission’s neutrality are merely expressing fears over their own political prospects.Politics “INEC is neutral. It has never, ever intimidated anybody. If political opponents are crying wolf, then they are afraid of their own shadows and the uncertainty in the company they keep,” he stated.
The President used the meeting to defend the economic reforms introduced by his administration, saying they were beginning to produce positive results despite the initial hardship experienced by Nigerians.
He cited the uninterrupted academic calendar in public universities as one of the administration’s notable achievements, pointing out that the absence of strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had brought relief to students and their families. “None of your children in university today—and I would say they are all your children because you are Reverend Fathers—can say a four-year course is not four years.
ASUU is not on strike. They are not bringing agony to your homes. Is that not an answer to our prayers? To me, that’s an answer,” Tinubu said. The President acknowledged that his administration inherited significant economic challenges from the government of former President Muhammadu Buhari but insisted that the country had now achieved stability and was on the path to economic recovery. “This government has stabilized, and there is prosperity on the horizon. The quality of life is improving,” he said. “I inherited it. I didn’t run away. I asked for this job. I’m in it.”
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Civil War Row: Plateau Govt Insists Mutfwang Spoke in Spirit of Reconciliation Engagement
The Plateau State Government has defended Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang over the controversy surrounding his recent remarks during an engagement with leaders of the Igbo community, insisting that his comments have been misrepresented and taken out of context.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Director of Press and Public Affairs to the Governor, Dr. Gyang Bere, the government said Mutfwang’s remarks were made in the spirit of reconciliation, appreciation and national unity, contrary to interpretations suggesting otherwise.
The clarification follows mixed reactions to comments made by the governor during a courtesy visit by leaders of the Igbo community to the Government House in Jos, with critics alleging that he apologised over the role of Plateau indigenes during the Nigerian Civil War.
Responding to the criticism, the government said the governor neither sought to diminish the experiences of any ethnic group nor distort the historical realities of the civil war.
It maintained that Mutfwang’s remarks were intended to acknowledge the resilience, enterprise and contributions of the Igbo community to the economic and social development of Plateau State while encouraging peaceful coexistence among Nigerians.
“The scars of that period remain part of our national history and deserve to be remembered with empathy, honesty and sensitivity,” the statement said, adding that the lessons of the civil war should strengthen national unity rather than reopen old wounds.
The government also highlighted Plateau’s long history of accommodating people from different parts of the country, describing the state as one of Nigeria’s foremost examples of peaceful coexistence.
According to the statement, successive administrations, beginning with Joseph Dechi Gomwalk and later Solomon Lar, laid the foundation for an inclusive society in which the Igbo community has thrived and contributed significantly to commerce, education, healthcare and industry.
The statement further aligned the state’s inclusive tradition with former Head of State Yakubu Gowon’s post-war “No Victor, No Vanquished” policy and the programme of Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, describing the approach as a globally recognised model for post-conflict healing.
The government said Governor Mutfwang remained committed to preserving that legacy through policies that promote dialogue, reconciliation and peaceful coexistence.
It urged Nigerians to disregard what it described as distorted interpretations of the governor’s remarks, warning that such narratives could inflame ethnic divisions and distract from the broader message of unity and national cohesion.
Reaffirming the administration’s position, the government said Mutfwang believes every Nigerian, regardless of ethnicity, religion or place of origin, deserves dignity, equal opportunity and a sense of belonging, adding that those principles will continue to guide his leadership of Plateau State.
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Mabushi bus terminal kick-starts(Watch)
Yes this Mabushi bus terminal in Abuja has kick started for passengers to use.
Watch below:
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