Senate: No crisis, despite stepping down vote of confidence motion, says Akwashiki

By Haruna Salami

The Senate spokesperson, Sen. Godiya Akwashiki has explained  that the stepping down of the motion on the vote of confidence on the leadership of the senate on Tuesday was in order, adding that there is no crack in the senate.

While fielding questions from National Assembly correspondents on Thursday in Abuja, Akwashiki said, stepping down the motion should not be anything for anybody to worry about because it is not a motion of a vote of no confidence, rather it’s a motion for a vote of confidence.

“The motion in question is a vote of confidence.I don’t think its something to worry about. You can only move a vote of confidence on any leadership when its obvious that the leadership is doing well and o supposed the reason for the motion,”

However, the lawmaker advised the public to wait until the date the motion will be moved on the floor of the Senate.

According to him, “Had it been that the motion was a vote of no confidence on the leadership and the Senate president decided to use his powers to stand down the motion, then you could say something is wrong, but since the sponsor of the bill stood up and said a motion for a vote of confidence you can see we are in order because it is not the only motion that has been stepped down by the 9th senate,” he said.

On the number of senators who appended their signatures on the motion, the senate spokesperson said, that was not normal, adding that 36 senators signing for the motion was very okay because the 109 senators can’t sign for a particular motion rather if few sign the rest would debate it on the floor.

“A motion can only be moved by one or two persons or more so that when brought to the floor the rest will debate on it, therefore, the number of senators that signed for the motion was in order coupled with the fact that both APC and PDP senators signed,” he opined.

Meanwhile, he noted that the senate within the week received and treated three executive bills and held a roundtable discussion on Power, Solid Minerals and Agriculture.
It will be recalled that on Tuesday the senate stepped down a motion of a vote of confidence on the leadership of the Senate sponsored by Senator Shittima Kashim (APC) Borno and 35 others.