Dismisses rumours of Akpabio’s impeachment

A raging controversy over the delineation of Warri Federal Constituency by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) sparked a tense confrontation in the Senate yesterday, with two Delta State lawmakers at the centre of the dispute.

The uproar began during deliberations on a motion moved by Simon Lalong, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, who sought the Senate’s intervention following a petition from the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality.

Lalong explained that the delineation exercise allegedly marginalised the Itsekiri Community by reducing the number of wards in its areas while favouring two Ijaw communities.

He further raised concerns that some communities included in INEC’s coordinates were reportedly located outside Delta State, extending into Edo and Ondo states.

“Based on the strength of this petition, I call on the Senate to thoroughly investigate the delineation exercise to avert what I consider an imminent political crisis,” Lalong said.

The motion, however, quickly drew pushback from Joel Onowakpor (APC, Delta South), who cautioned that the matter was already before the courts and warned that Senate involvement could be seen as interference in INEC’s independent mandate.

Onowakpor’s stance was strongly supported by Ede Dafinone, also from Delta State.

Tensions escalated when Lalong, in an attempt to further clarify the issue, referenced a letter from the Presidency.  Onowakpor reacted angrily, accusing Lalong of having a personal interest in the matter.

Despite the flare-up, the Senate eventually agreed to refer the issue to a joint committee comprising the Judiciary, Electoral Matters, and Special Duties committees for a comprehensive investigation.

The committee has been given four weeks to conclude its assignment and report back to the Senate plenary.

However, the Senate has denied the rumoured plan to remove Godswill Akpabio as the President of the Senate, describing the reports as misleading and aimed at creating confusion.

Speaking on the floor, the Senate Leader clarified that no discussions about an impeachment had taken place. He explained that attempts to quote Orji Uzor Kalu on the matter were taken out of context. “From my discussions with Kalu, it was obvious that the statement attributed to him was misrepresented,” he said.

The Senate Leader warned that such misinformation could distract lawmakers from urgent national issues, underscoring that members were united behind Akpabio’s leadership and had adopted a “zero tolerance” approach to distractions.