Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and his predecessor, Senator Ahmed Lawan, on Thursday clashed over the timing of the plenary sessions.
The Senate rules, among others, stated that the official commencement time is 10 am.
It has, however, become a trend for the Senate to start plenary much later, sometimes starting around 11 am or even later, as lawmakers take their seats much later.e.
Traditionally, the Senate adjourns its sittings for the day with plans to reconvene at 11 am the next legislative day, despite the official start time being 10 am.
In view of this, the Senate on Thursday, moved to amend the on start of official sitting time from 10 am to 11 am.
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, moved the motion, and the Senate moved to deliberate on the amendment.
However, Lawan opposed the proposal, and challenged Akpabio, saying the reason for changing the sitting time—to synchronise with the House of Representatives—was not convincing or “scientific” enough.
Lawan maintained that there were no convincing reasons to change the sitting time, adding that lawmakers were more energetic in the early hours, making a 10 am start more productive.
“The explanation that the change was to enable the Senate to synchronise its sitting time with that of the House of Representatives is not saleable to senators,” Lawan argued.
The former Senate President said moving the sitting time to 11 am would extend the sessions till 3 pm, a time when committees should be actively working.
Akpabio told Lawan that the 11 am practice was inherited from 9th Senate under Lawan.
But Lawan denied this, saying “No, that is not correct!”
Akpabio said starting at 11 am did not necessarily mean sessions must last until 3 pm, adding that they could end by 1 pm instead.
Bamidele interjected, saying senators with multiple functions such as oversight duties and committee assignments, sometimes kept them working late into the night, making a 10 am resumption challenging.
At this juncture tension, Akpabio hurriedly called for an executive session to address the issues privately.
