Tension gripped the hallowed halls of Nigeria’s upper legislative chamber on Tuesday as Senator Danjuma Goje, the seasoned representative for Gombe Central, launched a pointed rebuke against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, branding his actions an “unparliamentary act” that stalled Senate business for over half an hour.
The episode unfolded during the morning plenary of the 10th National Assembly, a body inaugurated on June 13, 2023, under Akpabio’s gavel following the All Progressives Congress (APC) securing a majority of seats in the February 25, 2023, general elections. With 109 members drawn from Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, the Senate operates under the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which mandates strict adherence to standing orders to ensure orderly deliberations on bills, motions, and oversight functions.
Proceedings had commenced smoothly under Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano North), who assumed the chair in Akpabio’s brief absence. Barau, elected on July 13, 2023, as the chamber’s second-in-command, guided the session through initial items on the order paper, including reports from standing committees on finance and appropriation—key arms established by Senate Resolution No. 1 of 2023 to scrutinise the national budget and fiscal policies.
Akpabio’s return around 10:30 a.m. shifted the dynamic. The Senate President, a former Akwa Ibom State governor from 2007 to 2015 and minority leader in the 8th Assembly (2015-2019), promptly signalled Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) and a handful of principal officers to join him at the presiding desk for what appeared to be a sidebar discussion. Bamidele, appointed leader on July 31, 2023, after a caucus vote, holds responsibility for steering the legislative agenda, including the sequencing of bills like the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill amendments debated earlier in the session.
This impromptu huddle, however, ignited Goje’s intervention. The Gombe Central lawmaker, who served as governor from 2003 to 2011 and has held his Senate seat since 2015, invoked Order 55(12)(a) of the Senate Standing Orders 2023 (as amended). This provision, ratified during the Assembly’s inaugural plenary on June 14, 2023, explicitly prohibits private consultations or interactions at the dais while the Senate remains in session, except for motions directly advancing the business at hand. “Interaction is not allowed except to move the business that we have been called upon to do,” Goje stated, his voice cutting through the murmurs. “Mr Senate President, what you are doing is unparliamentary. You are disturbing the business of the Senate. You cannot be holding a separate meeting when the Senate is in session.”
Goje’s stance drew from a long-standing parliamentary tradition in Nigeria, rooted in the Westminster model adopted post-independence in 1960. The Standing Orders, first codified in 1963 and revised periodically—most recently in 2023 to incorporate virtual sittings post-COVID-19—serve as the Senate’s procedural bible, enforced by the Senate President under Section 65 of the Constitution. Breaches, though rare, have historically led to points of order, as seen in the 9th Assembly when similar disputes over agenda control delayed the Finance Bill passage in 2021.
Akpabio, undeterred at first, extended an invitation for Goje to join the group. The Gombe senator demurred, reiterating his objection: “What I’m trying to say, Mr President, is that what is happening now is unparliamentary. What you are doing here is unparliamentary. You should have done this outside. When we come to the parliament, we do parliamentary business. What we are doing here, everything is at a standstill now. We are not doing business.”
The Senate President’s reply was measured: “Noted.” Yet Goje pressed further, questioning, “Noted but not sustained?” As colleagues stirred, some rising to interject, Akpabio sought to defuse the standoff by outlining the consultation’s purpose. He disclosed that the group was deliberating whether to proceed with plenary, given an impending 1 p.m. commitment at the Presidential Villa for the launch of the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Emblem. This annual event, institutionalised by the Nigerian Legion Act of 1963 and coordinated through the Ministry of Defence, honours fallen heroes and funds veterans’ welfare—a fixture in the federal calendar since the civil war era (1967-1970).
Goje held firm, declining involvement: “I don’t want to be part of it. I’m opposed to this one. I will not come. It’s unparliamentary. It’s wrong.” The exchange stretched beyond 30 minutes, with the chamber descending into intermittent uproar. Senators exchanged glances and low voices, the electronic voting board frozen on unaddressed motions, while clerks paused transcription under the Hansard protocol—a record-keeping system tracing back to colonial legislatures in the 1920s.
This flare-up forms part of a broader pattern in the 10th Senate, where procedural adherence has intersected with leadership dynamics since its formation. The Assembly’s composition reflects Nigeria’s federal character principle under Section 14(3) of the Constitution, with APC holding 65 seats, PDP 38, and others filling the balance. Early tensions surfaced in July 2023 over Akpabio’s election, which passed 57-31 amid walkouts by opposition members protesting alleged vote irregularities, as documented in the official Senate Journal of June 13, 2023.
More recently, on July 23, 2025, whispers of discord rippled through a closed-door executive session, where Akpabio and Bamidele reportedly clashed over caucus protocols. The Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, chaired by Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Osun East) since August 2023, addressed the matter in a July 25 statement: “The claims are baseless and misleading,” it read, attributing the session to routine strategy on the Supplementary Budget Bill. Such episodes underscore the Senate’s internal machinery, governed by the Leadership and Caucus Rules of Procedure adopted July 2023, which allocate roles like chief whip to Ali Ndume (APC, Gombe North)—Goje’s state colleague.
As the dust settled on Tuesday, Barau reconvened the house briefly before adjournment, tabling deferred items for Wednesday’s sitting. The incident, captured in live broadcasts by the National Assembly Channel and archived in the Senate’s digital repository, highlights the procedural guardrails that define Nigeria’s bicameral legislature, established by the 1979 Constitution and refined over four decades.
With the 2026 budget deliberations looming—slated to commence in October under the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007—the Senate faces a packed calendar of public hearings and appropriations votes. Akpabio’s schedule, balancing legislative duties with executive engagements like the emblem launch, signals the interlocking rhythms of Nigeria’s governance framework, where parliamentary order remains the linchpin for advancing national priorities.
