Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Thursday apologised to Adams Oshiomhole, the senator representing Edo North, for previously describing one of the former Edo State governor’s remarks as “unsenatorial”, while reaffirming a truce between both lawmakers to end their recent public exchanges.

The apology came during plenary after Akpabio made a passing reference to Oshiomhole’s earlier “dead or alive” comment regarding Mele Kyari, the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

The exchange followed weeks of public disagreement between the two senators over comments made during senate proceedings and in the media.

The rift began after Oshiomhole, during a June 10 sitting of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, backed a proposal to issue a warrant of arrest against Kyari over his repeated failure to honour invitations by the committee investigating financial records of the national oil company.

Supporting the motion, Oshiomhole said Kyari should be brought before the committee “dead or alive”, a remark that generated widespread public reaction.

A day later, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele moved a motion on the floor of the Senate distancing the upper chamber from any warrant of arrest against the former NNPC chief. Bamidele also criticised Oshiomhole’s choice of words.

The disagreement later escalated outside the chamber after Oshiomhole, during a podcast interview, alleged that Akpabio had influenced the employment of one of his daughters at the NNPC.

He also accused the Senate President of being biased against him and claimed Akpabio would readily prevent him from participating in senate proceedings if given the opportunity.

Tensions resurfaced on July 16 when Akpabio made reference to an earlier controversy involving Oshiomhole during plenary.

The Senate President alluded to a viral video that had circulated online, purportedly showing Oshiomhole massaging the legs of a woman aboard a private jet, drawing laughter from some lawmakers.

At Thursday’s plenary, Oshiomhole raised a point of order in a light-hearted manner, accusing Akpabio of violating an agreement they had reached to stop making humorous references to each other’s past controversies.
“I want to report to this house that the Senate President and I, we signed a truce of no more hostilities. And the Senate President breached the truce by reverting to a previous matter,” Oshiomhole said.

“So I told Mr Senate President, the truce is signed. You should not violate; I will not violate. You are my brother. You are my leader. You are my president.”

The Edo North senator, however, declined to pursue the matter further.

“I am not going to read the order I am doing. Order 72, I hereby drop it. Just to say, sir, protect vertically challenged people in the Senate,” he said, prompting laughter in the chamber.

Responding, Akpabio apologised to Oshiomhole, saying he had no intention of offending him.

“Let me, first of all, apologise to distinguished Senator Oshiomhole. If whatever I said could have in any way injured him or inferred to offend him,” Akpabio said.

The Senate President also reaffirmed the truce between them, pledging not to revisit the issue.

“Sorry, we have a truce. No more hostilities. Agreement is agreement. I will never refer to your comments as unsenatorial again, especially when you said, ‘bring the man dead or alive’. The truce between us remains upheld,” he said.

Akpabio described Oshiomhole as a brother, friend and former colleague in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, saying he held him in high regard.

“I hold him in very high esteem. And I assure you that agreement is agreement. I will not behave like America and Iran. When they have an agreement today, and two days later they will bomb each other,” he added.

The exchange ended on a cordial note, with both lawmakers signalling an end to the recent public spat that had drawn attention within and outside the National Assembly.