There was mild drama at the Senate on Tuesday as the President of the Red Chamber, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and his Deputy, Senator Jibrin Barau, clashed over U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of military action against terrorists in Nigeria, following allegations of Christian genocide in parts of the country.
Akpabio, reacting to a report by social media platform RANT HQ, which claimed he had rebuffed Trump on Nigeria’s classification as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), clarified at the end of plenary that he never attacked the U.S. President. He explained that he merely conveyed the collective resolution of the Senate on the issue.
The platform had quoted the Senate President as saying, “The killing is taking place in Nigeria not in the USA, Trump should focus on US. Nigerians are not complaining about the killings, we are fully satisfied with the condition of Nigeria.”
“Who am I to answer Trump,” Akpabio said, Barau quickly responded by saying “I’m not scared of Trump. I will say my mind. I’m a Nigerian. Nigeria is a sovereign nation. I’m a parliamentarian.”
Barau went further: “I’m the Deputy Senate President, I can speak. I’m not scared of Trump. Don’t be scared of Trump. You can say your mind about Trump. We are a sovereign nation.”
Akpabio immediately directed the Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo to delete the position of Barau from the day’s proceedings, pointing out that it doesn’t represents the views of the upper legislative chamber.
The divergence of opinion between the duo on Trump’s threat and tirade against Nigeria came to the fore when Akpabio was debunking the quotes credited to him by Rant HQ, over the killings in Nigeria, describing it as a “malicious and completely fabricated post.”
“Somebody will sit in the comfort of his room and produce a report and fake pictures of 2023 when the Senate President with Senators visited Port Harcourt on a very different thing and say, oh, Senate President answers President Trump, who am I to answer President Trump?
“That the Senate President said that Nigerians are not complaining, that we like the way we are living. That Nigerians are not complaining.
“I’ve petitioned the police. I’ve also petitioned the DSS. It is the presidency that will answer President Trump. And all Nigerians are doing their best in that direction. But who is that person that will go and ascribe a comment to the Senate President when he was never met?
“So I believe the Cybercrimes Unit of the Police, the DSS and others, should find that character out, because it is meant to cause friction. It is meant to cause friction and put the Nigerian Senate in disrepute.
“Social media should not break Nigeria,” Akpabio stressed.
He, however, said that the Senate would respond when the direction of the executive is known.
