Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Edo North senator Adams Oshiomhole clashed on the floor of the Senate after the upper chamber amended its standing rules to tighten eligibility for top leadership positions. The changes are widely seen as reshaping the race for the 2027 Senate presidency and other principal offices.
Under the amended rules, only ranking lawmakers with defined legislative experience will be eligible to contest for presiding roles such as Senate President and Deputy Senate President. The new provisions also bar first term senators and those without at least two consecutive terms from vying for principal offices.
Revised Order 4 of the Senate Standing Rules reinforces a strict hierarchy for choosing presiding officers, listing, in order, former Senate Presidents, former Deputy Senate Presidents, former principal officers, senators who have served at least one four year term, then former members of the House of Representatives, and only lastly first time senators. Order 5 further states that no senator is eligible to contest any principal office unless they have served at least two consecutive terms immediately before nomination.
The amendments effectively shut out Oshiomhole, who is a first term senator and has been widely reported as harbouring ambitions for the Senate presidency in 2027. They also affect other powerful figures, including outgoing governors planning to move to the Senate and vie for top positions after the next general election.
During plenary, Oshiomhole strongly opposed the changes, warning that they could undermine internal democracy and unfairly restrict capable lawmakers. He argued that competence and acceptability, not just length of stay in the chamber, should determine who can aspire to leadership.
However, Akpabio defended the amendments as necessary to preserve stability, continuity and institutional memory in the Senate’s leadership. He maintained that mature democracies typically rely on ranking and experience to guide the emergence of presiding and principal officers.
Tension rose as Oshiomhole repeatedly shouted “Point of Order” while sections of the amendments were being put to a voice vote, but Akpabio declined to recognise him. In the end, Oshiomhole was the only senator who openly voted against the changes, and his objection did not alter the outcome.
In a related move, the Senate also adjusted its legislative calendar, increasing plenary sittings from three to five days a week — Monday to Friday — and shifting most committee meetings to Friday afternoons. Leaders say the new schedule is intended to boost legislative productivity and oversight.
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