Senate President Godswill Akpabio has taken action following alleged reports that there is an impeachment plot against him.
Speaking on Wednesday, Akpabio denied reports that personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS) had occupied the National Assembly Complex in the early hours of Wednesday to stop the alleged move to impeach him as Senate President.
Akpabio said: “We are here, sitting down and doing our work, very peacefully, oblivious of the mischief that is going on behind us.”
He thereafter referred the issue to the Senate Committee on Special Duties for further investigation. He directed the committee to report their findings back to the Senate in plenary in 24 hours.
He said: “The fake news is hereby referred to the committee on special duties and should report back to the senate in 24 hours.”
Akpabio said the reports of a plot to impeach him were aimed at blackmailing him and the entire Senate to drive readership and traffic to the media platforms that reported the rumour.
“It is part of what we pass through daily. You see that they use AI to inject something to turn it around to drive traffic.
“I understand that they are being paid by YouTube if they have a lot of traffic.
“Whoever brought out this fake news must be getting a lot of payment because of the traffic going on, but I hope the public is aware that this is total fake news,” Akpabio said.
The Senate President reiterated that members of the upper chamber are united.
“The chamber is very stable and the issue of impeachment does not come in. So, (Senator) Kaka (Shehu), please investigate and report back to us as soon as practicable,” Akpabio said.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Special Duties, Kaka Shehu, in his response, assured that his committee would investigate the issue and report back to the Senate as soon as possible.
This is the second time there will be an impeachment report against Akpabio.
Barely two months after the Senate was inaugurated, there were reports of a plot to remove Akpabio from office.
One of the allegations was that he could be a “yes man” of President Tinubu and may ultimately turn the 10th National Assembly into a “rubber stamp” of the presidency.
Some also claimed he needed to be more tactical and sensitive whenever he spoke.
However, none of the senators confirmed that there existed a plot to impeach Akpabio.
The spokesman of the Senate, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, dismissed the speculation, claiming that the upper chamber was united and that removing Akpabio from office was impossible.
