The Senate went into an emergency executive session on Thursday due to a disagreement over the official starting time of its sessions.
The dispute was between the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and his predecessor, Senator Ahmed Lawan.
The Senate’s rules state that the official start time for sessions is 10 am, but sessions often start much later, around 11 am or even later, due to lawmakers arriving late. Traditionally, despite the official start time being 10 am, the Senate adjourns its sittings for the day with plans to reconvene at 11 am the next legislative day.
On Thursday, the Senate proposed to formally amend its rules to shift the official sitting time from 10 am to 11 am. The motion for this change was brought forward by Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele.
He challenged Akpabio, arguing that the reason for changing the sitting time—to synchronize with the House of Representatives—was not convincing or “scientific” enough.
He insisted that starting at 10 am is more productive as lawmakers are more energetic in the early hours.
“The explanation that the change was to enable the Senate to synchronize its sitting time with that of the House of Representatives is not saleable to senators,” Lawan stated.
He also claimed that shifting the sitting time to 11 am would extend the sessions till 3 pm, a time when committees should be actively working. In response, Senate President Akpabio reminded Lawan that the 11 am practice was inherited from Lawan’s previous Senate term.
Lawan, however, refuted this, stating, “No, that is not correct!” Akpabio also clarified that starting at 11 am did not necessarily mean sessions would last until 3 pm, suggesting they could end by 1 pm instead.
Senator Bamidele intervened, explaining that senators often have multiple engagements, such as oversight duties and committee assignments, which sometimes keep them working late into the night, making a 10 am resumption challenging.
In an attempt to resolve the tension, Akpabio called for an executive session to address the issues privately.
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