REWIND: In 2018, Akpabio clashed with Saraki over senate seating arrangement

At the senate plenary on October 17, 2018, Godswill Akpabio clashed with Bukola Saraki, the senate president at the time, over the seating arrangement at the upper chamber.

The disagreement between Akpabio, representing Akwa Ibom north-west, and Saraki led to a rowdy session at the senate.

The disagreement started when Albert Akpan, the senator representing Akwa Ibom north-east, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting to foment trouble during the 2019 governorship election in the state.

Akpabio sought to respond to the allegation using the microphone of Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno south, since the microphone on his seat was not functioning.

However, Saraki insisted that Akpabio moves to a different seat with a functioning microphone, which had been assigned to him by the clerk.

Saraki refused to allow Akpabio to speak using the microphone attached to Ndume’s seat. But Saraki’s directive to the lawmaker plunged the senate into a rowdy session.

Amid the controversy, the senate’s clerk said when he assigned a seat with a functioning microphone to Akpabio, the senator said he would prefer the seat without a functioning microphone.

Speaking with journalists after the incident, Akpabio asked Saraki to resign from his position since the APC had the majority of seats in the upper chamber.

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The incident happened some months after Akpabio left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC.

On Thursday, a heated argument erupted between Akpabio, who is now the senate president, and Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the lawmaker representing Kogi central, over a change in seating arrangements.