Senate passes vote of confidence in Akpabio, Barau, others after alleged impeachment reports

After reports of alleged plot to impeach the Senate President and other leaders of the Senate on an online platform, Senate Thursday passed a vote of confidence in the Senate President, Godswill Obot Akpabio and the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau.

The development comes 24 hours after
refuting the report with Akpabio himself the report as fake and unfounded.

However, during plenary on Thursday , Senator Yahaya Abdullahi (PDP Kebbi North), rose through orders 10 and 42 of the Senate standing rules to draw the attention of the Senate to the report again.

Yahaya said he decided to draw the attention of the Senate to the fake news for rebuttal of accusations that Northern Senators were behind the alleged impeachment plot .

“The publication is undermining the context of our democracy and is undermining the capacity of this institution to deliver in the presence of governors of this country.

“Therefore, we must rise and get united under the leadership to ensure that this kind of discourse is completely negated, so that the kind of unity that we have forged in the last 18 months can be sustained and fully accomplished.

“For us to be characterized as either promoting or supporting or allowing anybody to bring the leadership of this institution down is bad and should be disregarded.

“I have never in my life associated with anybody in order to bring or to divide any institution along ethnic or traditional lines.

“I think this is the work of some enemies which should be resisted and all of us should stand united behind the Senate leadership to make sure that this institution is preserved”, he said .

Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP Bauchi Central) who moved the motion for vote of confidence in Akpabio and the entie leadership of the Senate , said he also rose to debunk the report as one of the Senators from the North .

“So I move that on behalf of other senators, that we pass vote of confidence in your leadership and that of the entire Senate leadership”, he said

Senator Ismaila Kawu (NNPP Kano South) and the Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro (PDP Benue South) in their separate submissions, supported the move for vote of confidence in Akpabio and Senate Leadership , which was 100% affirmed by the Senators when put to voice vote.

In his remarks after passage of the vote of confidence, Senator Akpabio said: “On behalf of my brother, the Deputy Senate President, and the entire leadership, I assure you that the cooperation and the bond existing between us and the Senate will continue.

“No amount of people, no social media will come here to break that bond. I thank you for this, and we are very humbled.

“We are confident in this place, in the coming months, and in the coming years, we will justify the confidence that you have placed in us.