Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume, has revealed
the reason behind storming out of the chamber after an encounter with the
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday.
Ndume, at the plenary, had brought the Senate’s attention to
what he thought were contraventions.
The Borno South senator invoked a point of order to call the
attention of the Senate President to “procedural infringements” in the chamber.
This went against established parliamentary protocol as
Akpabio did not allow Ndume to complete his speech and the senator walked out
of the chamber afterwards.
During an interview with BBC Hausa, Ndume said his reason
for leaving when the debate on a matter related to the closing of Nigeria’s
borders was being debated.
He explained that the situation emanated, “when Senator Kawu
Sumaila proposed a motion which he said was urgent on closing the border
between Nigeria and Niger.
“At first, it was argued that the motion was not urgent, but
the president of the Senate let him finish what he wanted to say.
“After hearing the motion, it was agreed that since it is
related to security, it should be suspended.”
He further said that he wanted to explain the significance
of the motion to the chamber, but the Senate President denied him the
opportunity to speak.
“I would like to clarify that the motion, although
impactful, falls outside the jurisdiction of the Nigerian Senate.
“The closure of the border was not initiated by the
President of Nigeria, but rather during his tenure as President of ECOWAS. As
such, he has the authority to advocate on our behalf.
“In order to address
this matter, it is imperative to involve the President of our nation, but I was
not afforded the opportunity to convey this message.
“While this was happening, it coincided with the time of
prayer, prompting my departure. Consequently, my colleagues misconstrued my
exit, and the journalists changed the meaning of my exit,” Ndume said.
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