A new seating arrangement has thrown the Senate into a rowdy session which forced it to quickly go into closed-door session.
The first day of Senate’s plenary in the renovated chamber was marred by quarrels among senators over the seating arrangements.
The ecstasy of holding plenary proceedings in the chamber first enveloped the session at the beginning, but trouble started when the Senate President Godswill Akpabio started reading names of senators who marked their birthdays during the 40 days’ recess.
Specifically, Senator Sahabi Ya’u’ (APC Zamfara North), stood up from the seat allocated to him to complain to the Senate leader, Senator Micheal Opeyemi Bamidele (APC Ekiti Central).
His complaints which started in hushed tone, aggravated to a shouting match between the two and consequently, sparked reactions from other senators and degenerated into a rowdy session.
During the session which lasted for about 30 minutes, Ya’u pointed his finger at the leader, complaining that his seat was at the far right of the chamber and was not befitting, being a ranking senator who held the position of deputy minority whip of the Senate during the 9th National Assembly.
The verbal counter punching between the leader and Senator Ya’u, festered further when Senator Danjuma Goje (APC Gombe Central), joined them.
Goje also complained to the leader that ranking senators were not well positioned in the seating arrangement.
However, in a troubleshooting move, Akpabio called Opeyemi and the aggrieved senators surrounding him to approach the chair, which paved the way for him to read his welcome address.
After Akpabio’s address, an emergency executive session was called for by the leader apparently to diffuse the tension among the senators over the seating arrangement.
