Godswill Akpabio and Adams Oshiomhole
A light-hearted reconciliation between Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) on Thursday quickly gave way to a deeper institutional debate over the Senate’s oversight powers, with lawmakers questioning whether the chamber’s own inconsistency in enforcing legislative authority has emboldened government agencies to ignore parliamentary summons.
The issue arose during consideration of a substantive motion sponsored by Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), seeking to compel Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to honour invitations from the National Assembly and account for public funds.
Although the motion focused on the persistent refusal of several agencies to appear before Senate committees, debate shifted after Senator Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo (PDP, Nasarawa South) argued that the Senate itself had contributed to the growing culture of impunity by failing to consistently support its committees when they sought to enforce legislative summons.
Onawo recalled the controversy surrounding the Senate Committee on Public Accounts’ attempt to compel the appearance of former Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, over disputed audit queries running into trillions of naira.
According to him, the subsequent decision of the Senate leadership to distance itself from the committee’s purported warrant of arrest weakened the authority of the legislature and sent the wrong signal to government agencies.
He argued that the development had encouraged many MDAs to treat invitations from Senate committees with increasing disregard.
“A similar matter came before this Senate previously. There was a proposal to issue warrants against defaulting officials, but the Senate did not proceed with it,” Onawo said.
He further cited the failure of officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the National Sports Commission to appear before the Senate Committee on Sports despite invitations from lawmakers.
“These agencies have become emboldened because they believe the leadership will ultimately protect them.
“We must first put our own house in order before expecting others to respect the Senate.”
The intervention reopened one of the Senate’s most contentious recent controversies.
The Public Accounts Committee had been investigating over ₦210 trillion in disputed entries contained in NNPCL’s audited financial statements covering 2017 to 2023 when repeated invitations to former Group Chief Executive Mele Kyari failed to produce his appearance.
Frustrated by the development, Oshiomhole had urged the committee to “bring Mele Kyari here, dead or alive” and also described some NNPCL officials as “criminals and thieves” after a heated exchange with the company’s Chief Financial Officer.
The remarks generated widespread criticism and prompted the Senate leadership to distance the institution from both the purported arrest warrant and Oshiomhole’s comments.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele subsequently argued that under the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, only the Senate President could authorise the issuance of a warrant on behalf of the Senate, while cautioning lawmakers against making comments capable of suggesting that individuals under investigation had already been found guilty.
It was against that backdrop that Akpabio and Oshiomhole publicly signalled a thaw in their relationship during Thursday’s plenary.
The reconciliation began after Oshiomhole rose on a point of order and jokingly complained that despite a recent peace agreement between them, the Senate President had again refused to recognise him during debate.
He also humorously accused Akpabio of failing to adequately protect senators who were “vertically challenged,” drawing laughter across the chamber.
Responding in the same spirit, Akpabio denied deliberately overlooking Oshiomhole and assured him that every senator would continue to enjoy equal protection under his leadership.
“I will never refer to the un-senatorial comments of ‘bringing the man dead or alive,’ but I want to assure you that this chair will protect everyone, every single senator,” Akpabio said.
Describing Oshiomhole as “my brother, my friend and my colleague when we were governors,” the Senate President said he held the former Edo State governor “in very high esteem.”
In another humorous reference, Akpabio expressed confidence that their reconciliation would endure.
“Agreement is agreement. I will not behave like America and Iran, where they will have an agreement today and two days later they will bomb each other,” he joked.
The exchange marked a significant turnaround after recent tensions between the two All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders.
Only days earlier, they had disagreed during Senate consideration of President Bola Tinubu’s nomination of Prof. Abayomi Fasina as a non-career ambassador, with Oshiomhole urging the Senate to suspend confirmation pending the resolution of sexual harassment allegations against the nominee.
Akpabio had rejected the suggestion and, in a moment of levity, revived the controversy surrounding a viral video allegedly showing Oshiomhole massaging the feet of a South African influencer aboard a private jet, fuelling speculation of strained relations between the pair.
Despite Thursday’s public reconciliation, the plenary underscored lingering concerns within the Senate over the credibility of its oversight powers.
While lawmakers unanimously reaffirmed the National Assembly’s constitutional authority to compel attendance by MDAs, Onawo’s intervention highlighted a growing view that unless the Senate consistently supports its committees and enforces its own resolutions, government agencies may continue to treat legislative oversight with indifference, weakening accountability in the management of public resources.