The Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, has opened up on reasons the Senate President, GodsWill Akpabio, on Monday, left for the Villa to see President Bola Tinubu during the screening of now-confirmed Festus Keyamo.
Adaramodu who spoke on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday morning stated that Akpabio had gone to the Villa to discuss issues on security as it relates to Niger Coup.
The PUNCH reported that the Senate President had rushed to the Villa after a heated plenary session over the motion to suspend the screening of Keyamo.
The motion to suspend the screening was initiated by Senator Darlington Nwokocha, (LP, Abuja Central).
Nwokocha had accused Keyamo of disrespecting the ninth National Assembly and leveling allegations of corruption against the previous administration.
The deliberations resulted in a rowdy session after which Akpabio called for an executive session.
However, a few minutes later, the Senate President was spotted at the Villa.
Giving the reason for Akpabio’s presence at the Villa, Adaramodu explained, “The (Senate) President stood up yesterday to go to the villa, not because of Festus Keyamo or any screening, there had been a prior invitation of the Senate President and the leadership of the Senate to the Villa based on the security situation, especially the coup d’etat in Niger Republic.
“There had been a meeting scheduled for 2:30 pm yesterday (Monday), but during the screening, we had already eaten into the time that the Senate President should have gone there. It was a security meeting. By the time he left around 3 pm to 3:30 pm, he could not come back until around 4 pm, but some people mistook it that he was summoned to the villa because of Festus Keyamo.
“Keyamo was just one out of 48 nominees that were screened, so one person cannot generate such a concern for the villa to be inviting the Senate (leadership) to the villa.”
Asked if the three nominees would still be confirmed, he said, “The questions raised about them is an ongoing issue, so once the Senate is satisfied, if we need to invite them to the chamber for reconfirmation and screening, we will do that.”
When asked if the Senate would be satisfied to clear the nominees even if security (agencies) were not satisfied, Adaramodu said, “If the security agencies are not satisfied, Senate cannot be satisfied. So, it depends on what security and the person that nominated them says.”