The Senate on Monday erupted into a rowdy session following a motion by Senator Darlington Nwokocha and supported by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe to step down the screening of ministerial nominee, Festus Keyamo.
Senator Nwokocha had questioned the role of Keyamo as minister in the previous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He was also accused of ignoring and shunning summons by both the Senate and House of Representatives during his previous tenure as minister.
Senators Nwokocha and Abaribe represent Abia Central and Abia South respectively and are both members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In ruling on the motion, Senate President Godswill Akpabio called for voice votes of the ayes and nays.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports that making a ruling based on the responses proved difficult as both the ayes and nays tried to outdo each other as they shouted themselves hoarse, leading to confusion and rowdiness which lasted for about ten minutes.
Akpabio was then compelled to invoke the Red Chambers Rules Order 62, which he said gives him as Senate President or Chairman the right to call to order the entire plenary, adding that the rules give him responsibility to identify and recognise a senator to rise and speak.
The Senate President consequently ordered the senators to return to their seats and continue the session which the senators obliged, and the house was returned to order.
With the Red Chambers back in full session, Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele moved another motion seeking the senate to go into an executive session and to also extend their sitting time beyond 2pm, a motion which was seconded by the Minority Leader Simon Davou Mwadkwon,
When the Senate President put the motion to vote, it was unanimously supported by senators, following which he ruled that the house goes into an executive session.
Akpabio also ruled that the screening of Keyamo be stepped down pending the outcome of the meeting in the Senate executive session.
