Senate President Godswill Akpabio has dismissed claims that the Senate embarrassed Senator Sani Musa during a recent plenary session, calling the reports misleading and inaccurate.
In a statement released on Friday in Abuja, titled “Clarification on Misleading Reports Regarding Senate Proceedings,” Akpabio addressed social media posts and blog articles, including those from popular platforms like Linda Ikeji’s Blog.
These reports suggested that Senator Musa was criticized on the Senate floor for failing to define the word “harmonised.”
“This is completely untrue,” Akpabio stated firmly.
He noted that the event in question was misreported and taken out of context.
According to Akpabio, Senator Musa was responding during a session when Senator Abdul Ningi raised a point of order. This required immediate attention according to Senate rules and was not related to any failure by Senator Musa.
“The session continued without any breach of decorum. Senator Musa was neither embarrassed nor unable to respond,” Akpabio clarified.
Akpabio also acknowledged Senator Musa’s significant contributions to the Senate. He pointed out Musa’s role as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Finance and the Conference Committee, which successfully harmonized the Tax Reform Bills—a major legislative achievement praised by both chambers of the National Assembly and stakeholders.
“The Nigerian Senate operates on principles of respect, order, and integrity. While we welcome public engagement, we urge all media platforms to ensure their commentary is rooted in facts and not sensationalism,” Akpabio added.
The Senate President ended his statement by urging media outlets to follow responsible journalism standards when covering National Assembly activities. He called for accuracy and fairness in reporting to avoid spreading false information that can mislead the public.
