Tension In Senate As Akpabio Stops Ndume’s Motion On Disbursement Of N500 Billion Funds

There was reportedly pandemonium on the floor of the Senate yesterday over the step down motion bordering on the disbursement of N500 billion loan.

 

Lawmakers in the camp of Senate President, Godswill Akpabio that benefitted from the recent announcement of principal officers clashed against the losers.

Truetells Nigeria recalls that Akpabio had released the list of principal officers with former governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and former leader of the Senate, Ali Ndume, failing to clinch the two most coveted positions in the upper legislative chamber.

Ekiti senator, Bamidele Opeyemi was named majority leader while Simon Mwadkwon was announced as minority leader.

However, the dissatisfaction with the development became obvious when Ndume got up to read the contents of his motion, which had been captured in the Order Paper, titled: “Un-even disbursement of half a trillion naira loan to six geopolitical zones by the Development Bank of Nigeria.”

According to The Sun, Ndume claimed that the annual integrated statutory report of the Development Bank obtained in July, 2022, revealed that N483 billion was disbursed, but only 11 per cent went to the entire 19 northern states, while only Lagos State got 47 per cent of the entire funds.

While trying to establish certain facts, about the same motion he sponsored in the 9th Senate, Akpabio stepped in and stopped him.

Infuriated, Ndume tried to explain his position but Solomon Adeola, who has been primed to head the Senate Committee on Appropriations, stepped in.

Adeola told the Senate that Sani Musa headed the adhoc Committee in the 9th Senate and should be allowed to talk. He was permitted by Akpabio.

While explaining his role in the saga, Musa accused Ndume of deliberately misleading the Senate, insisting that the final report was signed by Ndume, and therefore he can’t feign ignorance of what transpired.

Thereafter, Akpabio, without further recourse to Ndume, ruled and suspended the consideration of the motion already captured in the day’s Order Paper. An attempt by Ndume to reintroduce the motion was frustrated by Akpabio.

A member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) from Nasarawa State, Aliyu Wadada insisted on debating the motion.

However, Akpabio ruled him out of order and refused to allow any debate on the issue.

An angry Ndume accused Musa of peddling falsehood against him. Ndume said as an experienced senator, it was wrong for him to have been accused unfairly and insisted that the issues in the motion were too germane to be ignored.

Again, Akpabio refused to allow a debate on the motion. The issues were still pending, when the deputy leader of the Senate, David Umahi, who stood in for the Senate leader, Bamidele moved to the next item in the Order Paper.