Senate President Godswill Akpabio has declared that the National Assembly will not be held hostage by the “disruptive instincts” of any of its members.
A statement issued by his media aide, Eseme Eyiboh, on Saturday, titled ‘The Trials and Triumphs of a Resilient Nigeria’s 10th Senate’, Akpabio said the legislature’s insistence on enforcing its rules was not about silencing dissent but about preserving order and the sanctity of democratic institutions.
He noted that the upper chamber must uphold discipline and respect for its rules to preserve the sanctity of Nigeria’s democracy.
Akpabio said, “The Senate cannot and will not be held hostage by the disruptive instincts of any of its members.
“Democracy thrives only when its institutions are respected and its rules upheld. The discipline of parliamentary conduct is a universal marker of political civilisation. In the United Kingdom’s House of Commons, the authority of the Speaker is absolute and unchallenged. No member, regardless of party or popularity, may openly defy the Speaker’s ruling without consequences.”
