By Abiola Olawale
The Senate was once again plunged into a rowdy session as verbal war erupted among lawmakers on Tuesday, the first day of the Senate’s plenary in the newly renovated red chamber.
The Senators engaged in a fierce verbal war over purported sitting arrangement.
The New Diplomat reports thattrouble began when the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, started reading the names of Senators who marked their birthdays during the vacation.
While the Senate President was reading out names, Senator Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u (APC, Zamfara North) angrily stood up from the seat allocated to him to complain to the Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) about his sitting arrangements.
His complaints to Bamidele started in a hushed tone, however, the situation escalated into a heated argument between the two of them, which caused other Senators to react and resulted in a chaotic session that lasted for around 30 minutes.
Senator Ya’u was seen pointing his finger at the Senate Leader, complaining bitterly that the new seat allocated to him at the far right corner of the chamber was not befitting of him.
The verbal war between the Senate Leader and Senator Ya’u festered further when Senator Danjuma Goje (APC, Gombe Central) joined the fray.
Goje also complained to Bamidele that ranking Senators were poorly positioned in the new sitting arrangement.
The New Diplomat reports that the two chambers of the National Assembly were formally reopened on Tuesday after about two years of renovation work.
During the renovation, lawmakers were using makeshift chambers in both wings of the National Assembly.
