Akpabio: Vote Of Confidence Shows There Is No Peace In The Senate – Ologbodiyan

A former National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Kola Ologbondiyan, has expressed concern over the repeated votes of confidence passed on Senate President Godswill Akpabio, describing the trend as “worrisome.”

Ologbondiyan made the statement on Thursday evening during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today program, where he noted that Akpabio had received nearly four votes of confidence in less than two years.

Earlier that day, The PUNCH reported that the Senate unanimously passed a vote of confidence on Akpabio during a plenary session. The motion was moved by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central) and seconded by Deputy Minority Leader Olarere Oyewumi (Osun West).

The vote came just 48 hours after suspended Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan spoke at the Inter-Parliamentary Union in New York, where she alleged that she was suspended due to her sexual harassment claims against Akpabio.

Addressing the Senate’s action, Ologbondiyan pointed out that votes of confidence are typically passed in times of crisis to reaffirm support for a presiding officer, suggesting that ongoing tensions exist within the red chamber.

“On the issue of sexual harassment and vote of confidence, I think Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, will be the first President of the Senate that will have sequentially close to three or four votes of confidence in a space of less than two years, and I think that should be worrisome to himself and to the Senate as an institution.

“Because the concept of a vote of confidence, if you understudy it, shows that there is crisis, and the presiding officer needs to be protected or reassured that the floor is with him. That is why you talk about the vote of confidence.

“So I think that the fact that a vote of confidence has become a recurrent decimal in this particular Senate shows that there is no peace in the Senate. And if there is peace in the Senate, then it means that it could be a peace of the graveyard,” he said.

Ologbondiyan also addressed the Senate’s passage of the Tax Reform bills for a second reading, stating that while the move was commendable, the bills needed thorough scrutiny to ensure fairness.

“If it’s well processed, it could be an improvement on the electoral system. However, since the bills are going to go through public hearings and Nigerians will have the opportunity to review, study, and make sure that it is not in favor of any group, persons, or party, it is a welcome development.

“So we will all wait until when it goes to the public hearing, and Nigerians will have the opportunity to examine that. Until that is done, I don’t think it requires a lot of comments,” he added.