President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Thursday, vowed never to succumb to pressure from people asking him to step down following allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by the Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
He stated this at plenary after the Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, announced that despite criticisms from some quarters, the 10th Senate would not succumb to blackmail by supporting calls for the resignation of the Senate President based on frivolous allegations.
“For the fact that you said those who would have asked me to step down, who told you I was going to step down?
“You know, if you watch the colour of America, there are black people because of their skins who went to prison, in some 25 years for false allegations.
“So, I’m not one of those people who step down over false allegations. Then when eventually it is proven that the allegation was false, they will say, oh, well, it was a mistake.
“I’m not that bad. So, if you had that in mind, please cancel it. I won’t step them. So, having said that, I must thank you for the words that you have spoken today.”
Speaking on the issue of the security summit which the Defence Minister, Mohammed Badaru, condemned during a ministerial press briefing on Wednesday, Akpabio said the minister might soon be summoned by the Senate.
Badaru had on the occasion, downplayed the importance of the proposed security summit by the Senate, stressing that renewal of strategy was far more critical in combating insecurity.
Akpabio noted that the Senate Leader did not indict the Defence Minister but reported him.
“I think the Senate will look into that issue. If the Defence Minister has any issue with any resolution of the Senate, he shouldn’t do so in the market. He should get in touch with the Senate President or the Senate Elders.
“Senator Abdul Ningi, I think I’m speaking your mind. It should get in touch with us, not to go and speak in the open. And it will amount to Executive Legislative Brouhaha. So, we will pick that up at the appropriate time.”
Earlier, the Senate Leader said he was elected into office to be criticised but that such criticism should not be based on false allegations.
Bamidele said, “I was elected into office to be criticised. We are not opposed to that. But when people falsify things about us, when people deliberately try to call us out, I don’t know what to do.
“We are focused as to what we are going to spend the rest of our time here doing. We are concerned about the national security of our country. And that’s why listening to the Honourable Minister of Defence on Wednesday, describing as unnecessary our resolution to hold a national security summit, I thought that was funny.
“My only message to the Honourable Minister is that it is a resolved national security summit. Some of the security summits in the past did not go any far. Because if the Honorable Minister in charge would even think it was not necessary for us as elected representatives to want to hold this summit, then I’m concerned.
“We are concerned by the fact that we know that there is a new sheriff in town and an elected president, who understands the need to work with the parliament and who will not take for granted the rest of the parliament.
“I, therefore, say to the Honorable Minister, when it is time to hold a national security summit, you should be eager to honour our invitation.”
