In a dramatic turn of events at the Senate on Tuesday, October 17, Senate President Godswill Akpabio called for an urgent closed-door meeting during the plenary session. This move came in the wake of an incident involving the Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, who had left the chamber following a ruling that declared him out of order.
Senator Ndume, representing the APC Borno South, had raised a point of order, highlighting alleged errors made by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio. The error in question was related to a motion brought forth by Senator Summaila Kawu, who represents NNPP Kano South. This motion concerned the reopening of the Nigerian-Niger Border, but Senator Kawu had failed to state the title of his motion.
Using Order 51 of the Senate standing rules, Senator Ndume requested that the Senate President allow for the correction of any errors observed during the proceedings. He emphasized that the Senate should adhere to established laws, rules, and procedures, stating, “If in the course of proceedings at any session, errors are observed, they must be corrected before forging ahead with such proceeding.”
However, Senate President Akpabio swiftly intervened, stating that once rulings on issues raised had been made, they could not be revisited. Consequently, he ruled Senator Ndume out of order. Senator Sunday Karimi, representing the APC Kogi West, attempted to support Ndume’s argument through another point of order, but he, too, was swiftly ruled out of order by Akpabio.
In an attempt to address the situation, Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau, invoked Order 16, which requires a substantive motion to be moved by any Senator for the correction or review of an earlier decision.
This action by Barau was upheld by Akpabio, further frustrating Senator Ndume, who then raised another point of order (Order 54) in an effort to seek correction of the perceived error. Unfortunately, before he could fully present his argument, the President of the Senate ruled him out of order once again.
In response to this, a visibly angered Senator Ndume gathered his documents and stormed out of the chamber. Perplexed by the unfolding scenario, the other Senators swiftly convened a closed-door session, which was still ongoing at the time of filing this report.
