Senate Chief Whip, Sen. Ali Ndume, has explained why he left the chamber after clashing with Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday during plenary.
Ndume walked out of the Chamber after Akpabio ruled him out of order for citing an order that bear no relevance to the matter he sought to present after raising a point of order.
He had attempted to draw the Senate’s attention to what he termed as violations of the provisions of the Standing Orders of the Red Chamber.
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He had moved a point of order to inform the Senate of “procedural infringements” in the chamber, which went he said violates established parliamentary protocol.
The Senate President refused to allow Ndume to complete his speech saying the Order 54 cited by Ndume had no bearing with the subject matter he tried to introduce.
The Borno South lawmaker thereafter left the chamber in apparent anger.
However, in an interview with BBC Hausa, in Abuja, Ndume stated his reason for leaving when the motion concerning the need to reopen the Nigeria-Niger borders was being debated.
According to him, the situation originated “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 said it was at that point he wanted to explain the importance of the motion to the Chamber but the Senate President denied him the opportunity to speak.
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“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.
He said he told his deputy that he was going to pray and left.