…rushed into closed door session
By Okechukwu Jombo
The first day of Senate’s plenary in the reconfigured Hallowed Chamber on Tuesday, was marred by quarrels among Senators over sitting arrangements .
Ecstasy of holding plenary proceedings in the renovated hallowed chamber first enveloped the session at the beginning, but trouble started when the President of the Senate , Godswill Akpabio started reading names of Senators who marked their birthdays during the forty days recess.
Specifically , Senator Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u ‘ ( APC Zamfara North) , angrily stood up from the seat allocated to him to complain on it , to the Leader , Senator Micheal Opeyemi Bamidele ( APC Ekiti Central) ,
His complaints to the Leader which started on hushed tone, aggravated to shouting match between the two and consequently sparked reactions from other Senators and eventually degenerated into rowdy session .
During the rowdy session which lasted for about 30mins , Senator Ya’u angrily pointed his finger at the Leader , complaining that the Seat , allocated to him at far right of the chamber was not befitting, being a ranking Senator who held principal position of Deputy Minority Whip of the Senate during the 9th National Assembly.
The verbal counter punching between the Leader and Senator Ya’u , festered further when Senator Danjuma Goje ( APC Gombe Central ) , joined them.
Goje also complained to the Leader , that ranking Senators were not well positioned in the sitting arrangement .
However, in a trouble shooting move , the President of the Senate , called on the Leader and aggrieved Senators surrounding him , to approach the Chair , which they did , and eventually paved way for Akpabio to read his welcome address.
After Akpabio’s welcome address , an emergency executive session was called for by the leader apparently to diffuse the bottled anger among Senators over sitting arrangement .
