Senator Adams Oshiomhole has said Senate President Godswill Akpabio thinks he’s the devil and that there are many agents he doesn’t know.
He said this during a Mic on Podcast interview released on Sunday, warning that the 11th Senate will not be like the 10th Senate.
Responding to a question on whether he has become a threat to the Senate President, Oshiomhole fired directly at Akpabio’s leadership style, stating that fellow senators are quietly complaining about his approach.
Senator Oshiomhole stated: “He is paranoid about everything that has to do with me, everybody in the Senate knows that if Sen. If Akpabio has his way, he will lock me out of the Senate because he has misled himself into thinking that I’m probably the devil he knows.
“However, there are many agents he doesn’t know, and the 11th Senate will not be the 10th Senate. This I can say, senators are groveling about his style of leadership.”
The sour relationship between Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senator Adams Oshiomhole began when the Senate ammended it’s rules ahead of the 2027 political cycle.
The rift escalated into a volatile shouting match on the floor of the Nigerian Senate when the upper chamber amended Orders 4 and 5 of its standing rules during a three-hour closed-door session. The new “ranking rule” stipulates that only lawmakers who have served at least two consecutive terms are eligible to contest for principal offices like Senate President and Deputy Senate President.
As a first-term senator representing Edo North who did not serve in the 9th Assembly, Oshiomhole protested this amendment, arguing that making rules to retroactively bar certain politicians from vying for leadership positions is undemocratic, and went as far as demanding Akpabio’s resignation over the changes.
The political tension peaked the following morning during the official reading and adoption of the previous day’s Votes and Proceedings—specifically items 194, 195, and 196, which logged the rule changes.
Oshiomhole repeatedly disrupted the chamber by shouting “Point of Order!” to halt the adoption, but Akpabio refused to recognize him, citing Order 20(F) and Order 38, which dictate that points of order cannot be entertained during the preliminary adoption phase.
When Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno failed to calm Oshiomhole down, Akpabio issued a final warning to the Edo North senator, stating, “If you become unruly, we will use the rules to take you out of the Senate… This is the final warning.”
After a tense 15-minute disruption, Oshiomhole yielded, and Senators Adamu Aliero and Abba Moro formally moved to adopt the proceedings.
The friction between the two lawmakers recently resurfaced over the oversight of the oil sector, where Oshiomhole condemned officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over accountability concerns and refused to moderate his language despite interventions from Akpabio and other senators.