Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north, says Senate President Godswill Akpabio is biased against him and would shut him out of the red chamber if given the opportunity.
Oshiomhole spoke in an interview on Seun Okinbaloye’s podcast aired on Sunday.
The former Edo governor said Akpabio had become “paranoid” about him despite his role in the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the election of President Bola Tinubu.
“Akpabio forgets that I was a founding governor of APC. And I was deputy DG of Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s campaign that gave us victory. I am not saying I am responsible for the victory. But I worked for it and I’m happy we got it,” he said.
“He is paranoid about everything that has to do with me. Everybody in the senate knows that if Senator Akpabio has his way, he would lock me out of the senate because he has misled himself into thinking that I’m probably the devil he knows.”
Oshiomhole added that many senators were dissatisfied with Akpabio’s leadership style and suggested the next senate would be different.
“However, there are many agents he doesn’t know, and the 11th senate will not be like the 10th senate. This I can say: senators are grumbling about his style of leadership,” he said.
The lawmaker said Akpabio’s alleged bias against him was well known within the senate, although he declined to speculate on the reason for it.
“The senate president’s bias against me is very well known. I will not join in speculating about the reason for his bias. But many people in that senate know,” he said.
“In fact, if I am going round on the floor of the senate greeting certain people and having conversations, the man will become uncomfortable.”
Oshiomhole also recounted an alleged conversation involving Abdulaziz Yari, senator representing Zamfara west, and Akpabio over the leadership of the senate committee on interior.
According to him, Yari had expressed interest in serving as vice-chairman of the committee, which Oshiomhole currently heads.
“Senator Yari approached the senate president that he wanted to be vice-chairman of the senate committee on interior. I am the chairman of the committee,” he said.
“So Yari said he wants to be vice-chairman. And the senate president said to him, ‘So you want to join Senator Oshiomhole to be planning how to remove him as senate president?’ He said that. But I just laughed it off.”
The comments come amid growing tension in the senate following the controversy generated by Oshiomhole’s recent remarks on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
During plenary last Wednesday, the former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) backed a motion by the senate committee on public accounts calling for the arrest of Mele Kyari, former group chief executive officer (GCEO) of NNPC, over his failure to honour invitations on an ongoing probe of the company’s finances.
The decision came as lawmakers intensified scrutiny of the company’s audit reports covering the period from 2017 to 2023, which reportedly contain unresolved financial entries and discrepancies valued at over N210 trillion.
About the Author
