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Senators Fight Over Sitting Arrangement, Go Into Closed-Door Session

Plenary resumption at the reconfigured Hallowed Chamber of the Senate on Tuesday did not go as planned as Senators openly had altercations over sitting arrangements.

Trouble started when the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, started reading the names of Senators who marked their birthdays during the 40-day recess.

The Senator representing Zamfara North, Sahabi Ya'u, approached the Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, to complain about his allocated seat.

Things took a new twist when his complaints which started in a hushed tone, aggravated to a shouting bout with the Senate Leader and consequently sparked reactions from other Senators.

During the disorderly period which lasted for about 30 minutes, Ya'u angrily pointed his finger at the Leader, complaining that the seat allocated to him was not befitting, being a ranking Senator who held the principal position of Deputy Minority Whip during the 9th National Assembly.

The altercation festered further when Gombe Central Senator, Danjuma Goje joined by also complaining to Senator Bamidele that ranking lawmakers were not well positioned in the sitting arrangement.

In a bid to calm the lawmakers’ nerves, the Senate President called on the Leader and others to allow him to conclude his welcome address.

After the remarks, Akpabio immediately called for an emergency executive session to diffuse the bottled anger among Senators.


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