No crack in Senate ― Senator Akwashiki

Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Godiya Akwashiki, has said a move to pass a vote of confidence in the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan was in order.

Addressing newsmen on Thursday at the end of Senate plenary, the senator representing Nasarawa North dismissed insinuation that the motion was meant to ward off a purported move by certain aggrieved senators plotting to unseat Senator Lawan.

A motion for a vote of confidence in the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, was hurriedly stepped down on Tuesday on the floor of the Red Chamber.

Sponsored by immediate past Borno state governor and senator representing, Borno central, Kashim Shettima, it was co-sponsored by 35 other senators, across the parties divide.

Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Sabi Abdullahi moved a motion that Senator Shettima motion be moved to another legislative day and it was seconded by Minority Whip and senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, Phillip Aduda.

The motion was hurriedly moved to another legislative day as some of the senators whose names were listed as co-sponsors were smarting for a showdown with Senator Shettima on the floor of the Senate.

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Senator  Akwashiki, however, denied that majority of the senators were against the motion.  He denied a claim that the motion which was stepped down was a preemptive move against anti- Lawan senators in the Red Chamber.

Despite the lean number that sponsored the motion, the chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs further claimed that the majority of senators were in support of Senator Lawan leadership of the Senate.

He said: ”There is nothing to worry about in the vote of confidence in the leadership of the Senate which was stood down on Wednesday during plenary.

”It is a vote of confidence and not a vote of no confidence.  A vote of confidence is moved when members of a group are in support or in total agreement with the leadership. I see no big deal in the motion being stood down. I want us to exercise patience and wait for the day that the motion would be mentioned on the floor of the Senate.

”I won’t speak further on it because it is a vote of confidence. I would speak more if it was a vote of no confidence and the Senate president decided to use his power as presiding officer to stand down the motion.

”Those who are moving the vote of confidence are in total support of the leadership,  so it is not a serious issue.

”On the 36 senators comprising 25 APC and 11 PDP members,  listed as co-sponsors of the motion,  is a normal thing. All of us are in total agreement of the motion but we cannot all have our names in the motion. If all of us should put our names on the list,  then it’s no longer a motion. Now that the motion has been brought before the Senate, every senator would have the opportunity to speak on it. The number of sponsors does not matter.

”The vote of confidence motion has nothing to do with any crisis in the Senate. There is no crisis. Our loyalty to the leadership is total and complete. It is even possible for two senators to move a motion on vote of confidence.”