Oshiomhole Claims Akpabio Sees Him as an Enemy

The Senator from Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has said that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, is suspicious of him.

Oshiomhole spoke on the Sunday episode of MIC ON PODCAST. This comes as tensions rise in the Senate after his recent comments on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

The former governor of Edo State said Akpabio has an unfair view of him despite what he has done for the ruling All Progressives Congress and President Bola Tinubu’s election win.

He said, “Don’t forget that I was a founding governor of the APC and Deputy DG of Bola Tinubu Campaign Council that gave us victory. I’m not saying I am responsible for the victory, but I worked for it, and I’m happy we got it.

“He (Akpabio) is so paranoid about anything that has to do with me. Everybody in the Senate knows that if Senator Akpabio had his way, he would lock me out of the Senate because he has misled himself into thinking that I am probably the devil he knows. There are many angels he doesn’t know,” he explained.

Senate Leadership Concerns

Oshiomhole also predicted that the next Senate leadership will be very different from the current one. He mentioned that lawmakers are unhappy with the way things are going.

“The 11th Senate will not be like the 10th, this I can say. It can’t be. Senators are grumbling about his style of leadership. But we try to manage, and I’ve tried to assure him that ‘Look, Mr Senate President, I am a very fulfilled person.’

“Whatever job I am given to do, I ask God to give me courage and even greater wisdom to do that job to the satisfaction of my constituents. The Senate President’s bias against me is very well known. I will not join in speculating as to the reason for his bias,” he added.

Continuing, Oshiomhole claimed that Akpabio gets uneasy when he talks to some senators. He gave an example involving Senator Abdulaziz Yari.

He said, “Many people in the Senate know. In fact, if I go around the floor of the Senate and I greet certain persons and we have conversations, the man becomes uncomfortable. I will give you an instance.

“Senator Yari approached the Senate President and said that he wanted to be the Vice-Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior. I am the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior. The Senate President said to him, so you want to join Senator Oshiomhole to plan how to remove me as Senate President? But I just laugh it off.”

Senate President's Position

According to him, the Senate President is the “first among equals” and must follow the will of the senators.

“If you understand the way the Senate works, the Senate President is first among equals. Only the persons favoured by the Senators are elected.

“Remember, if Senator Yari had got the majority, he could have become the Senate President. It is not about what anybody wishes. It is about who the senators want,” he warned.

These comments came just days after the Senate distanced itself from Oshiomhole’s claim that the NNPCL is “a bunch of criminals and thieves.” They said his comments were his personal views and not those of the Senate.

Last week during a session, the Senate passed a motion from Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele. This motion clarified that no Senate committee can issue, authorise, or execute a warrant of arrest without following the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act and getting the Senate President's approval.

This resolution followed reports that the Senate Committee on Public Accounts had suggested issuing a warrant of arrest against former NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, for not showing up when invited.

Efforts to reach Akpabio’s media aide, Hon Eseme Eyiboh, were unsuccessful. He did not answer calls or reply to messages seeking clarification.