On October 17, 2018, Godswill Akpabio, who represented Akwa Ibom North-West, and then-Senate President Bukola Saraki argued over a seating arrangement issue during the Senate session, causing mayhem in the upper house.
The fight started when Albert Akpan, the senator for Akwa Ibom North-East, claimed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was planning to sabotage the state’s 2019 gubernatorial election.
Since his own microphone was broken, Akpabio, eager to answer, tried to use the one at Senator Ali Ndume’s seat.
Saraki, however, denied him permission and told him to go to a another seat that had a working microphone that the Senate clerk had given him.
The chamber was in chaos as a result of Akpabio’s insistence on using Ndume’s microphone.
Akpabio had previously been provided a seat with a functioning microphone but chose one without, the Senate clerk disclosed amid the commotion.
Speaking to reporters following the contentious meeting, Akpabio went one step further and demanded Saraki’s resignation, claiming that the APC had gained the Senate majority.
Akpabio joined the APC after defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) a few months prior to the incident.
It’s interesting to note that a similar argument over another change in seating arrangements occurred on Thursday, this time between Kogi Central senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Akpabio, who is currently Senate President.
Remember how it was previously reported that Akpoti-Uduaghan interrupted the plenary session by changing her sitting arrangement without permission?
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The session, which was presided over by Akpabio, was reportedly underway when Chief Whip Senator Mohammed Ali Monguno brought up the issue of what he called Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s “improper seating position.”
The Sergeant-at-Arms had to step in and try to escort Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan out of the chamber after she broke out in a boisterous altercation before Monguno could complete his testimony.
