Senator Adams Oshiomhole has challenged Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s moral authority to advocate for an eight-year service requirement for principal officers in the Senate, describing the move as inconsistent with Akpabio’s own rapid rise to leadership.
Oshiomhole, a former Edo State governor and current senator, made the remarks after Thursday’s plenary session while speaking to journalists. He questioned the fairness of the proposed rule change, which would demand eight consecutive years of service before a lawmaker can qualify for top positions such as Senate President.
“The Senate President became a Minority Leader, a principal officer, during his first term as a senator in the 8th Senate. Today, he is the one presiding and asking us to change those rules,” Oshiomhole said.
He further pointed out that even combining Akpabio’s previous and current years in the Senate, the Senate President has not yet accumulated eight years of service.
“As we speak today, the Senate President hasn’t spent up to eight years, even if you count his previous years and his current one. So if we pass the rule that you must do eight consecutive years before you can become Senate President, it means he has to lead by example by vacating because he’s presiding without acquiring the appropriate qualifications,” Oshiomhole added.
The former labour leader argued that imposing such a stringent eligibility criterion would amount to selective application of rules and could shut out capable lawmakers who enjoy broad political consensus within the chamber.
