By Kolawole Ojebisi
A video has been unearthed from the archives revealing how the current Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, clashed with Bukola Saraki, one of his predecessors in the exalted seat, over the seating arrangement at the Red Chamber during plenary.
According to the video, the incident happened on October 17, 2018. The altercation between Akpabio, representing Akwa-Ibom Northwest Senatorial District, and Saraki led to a rowdy session at the senate.
The disagreement started when Albert Akpan, the senator representing Akwa Ibom north-east, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting to foment trouble during the 2019 governorship election in the state.
Akpabio sought to respond to the allegation using the microphone of Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno south, since the microphone on his seat was not functioning.
However, Saraki insisted that Akpabio moves to a different seat with a functioning microphone, which had been assigned to him by the clerk.
Saraki refused to allow Akpabio to speak using the microphone attached to Ndume’s seat. But Saraki’s directive to the lawmaker plunged the senate into a rowdy session.
Amid the controversy, the senate’s clerk said when he assigned a seat with a functioning microphone to Akpabio, the senator said he would prefer the seat without a functioning microphone.
Speaking with journalists after the incident, Akpabio asked Saraki to resign from his position since the APC had the majority of seats in the upper chamber.
The incident happened some months after Akpabio left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC.
Meanwhile On Thursday, February 20, 2025 an incident reminiscent of that of 2018 happened during the plenary again, this time Akpabio status has changed as he is at the helm in the Senate.
A heated argument erupted between Akpabio and Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the lawmaker representing Kogi central, over a change in seating arrangements.
