There was a mild drama in the Senate chamber on Tuesday as lawmakers reacted to the threat of military action issued against Nigeria by the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
The drama began when the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, denied a statement attributed to him by a blog, which claimed he had responded to President Trump by saying that Christians in Nigeria were not complaining and that the US president should focus on his own country.
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The report, which has since gone viral, generated outrage among Nigerians, with many accusing Mr Akpabio of making a divisive statement that could incite unrest.
Reacting during the plenary, Mr Akpabio said the report was false, stressing that he had never responded to President Trump and questioning why anyone would fabricate such a story.
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He specifically stated that he had no authority to respond to Mr Trump’s threat, even as the number three citizen of the country.
“Somebody will sit in the comfort of his room and produce a report and produce 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?,” he asked.
However, his remark that he could not respond to the US President appeared to irritate the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who stood up to challenge him.
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Mr Jibrin maintained if the senate president would not respond, he would.
“I said I’m not scared of Trump. I will say my mind. I’m a Nigerian. Nigeria is a sovereign nation. I’m a parliamentarian. I’m the deputy senate president, I can speak. I’m not scared of Trump. Don’t be scared of Trump. You say your mind about Trump. We are a sovereign nation,” Mr Jibrin said.
In response, Mr Akpabio argued that only the presidency had the constitutional authority to officially respond to President Trump on behalf of the nation.
“This time, the Senate President of Nigeria did not answer President Trump. and that the quotation is meant to cause diplomatic row. It is the presidency that will answer the comment of President Trump,” he said.
Lawmakers to respond properly later
The senate president added that the matter would be properly discussed on the floor of the Senate at a later date.
“I can only speak your voice. We have not discussed the comment of President Trump in chambers yet. I know we will, and I believe we will. We shall. It’s only then that the Senate President can make a comment, not somebody sitting in this building to talk nonsense,” he added.
Petition to security agencies
Mr Akpabio also revealed that he had petitioned the Nigeria Police Force and the State Security Services (SSS) to investigate the origin of the false report.
“I’ve petitioned the police. I have also petitioned the DSS (Sss). But who is that person that will go and ĺascribe a comment to the senate president when he was never me. So I believe the Cybercrimes Unit of the police, the DSS (SSS) 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.”
This is not the first time the issue of the alleged Christian genocide has been raised in the Nigerian parliament.
The matter was first discussed on 9 October, when senators resolved to send a delegation to the United States to engage directly with members of the US Congress over reports of alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
On 14 October, the Senate set up a 12-member ad hoc committee to formulate a legislative position on the allegations and recommend appropriate actions for the government.
Although the senate president had instructed the committee to submit its report within one week, it is unclear whether that directive has been carried out.
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