Twice on Thursday last week in plenary, the Senate detested what it termed as fake news on its President, Godswill Akpabio and on it as a lawmaking body over alleged plan for procurement of new aircrafts by the presidency. TAIYE ODEWALE reports.
Fake news
The fake news detested by the Senate twice during plenary, last week, Thursday, were reports made by different online platforms at different times on the same subject matter on alleged plan by the presidency to procure new Aircrafts and alleged expeditious consideration and approval awaiting such plan in the Senate.
The first leg of the fake news, was the one reported penultimate week through the social media that the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, said “if request for procurement of new aircrafts is forwarded to the Senate by President Bola Tinubu, it would be expeditiously approved regardless of hunger in the land”.
The second leg of the fake news was the one reported by an online platform of one of the national dailies on Wednesday last week, that the Senate had at an emergency closed door session, resolved to approve request for procurement of new presidential aircrafts.
Detestation of the fake news
In drawing the attention of the Senate to the first leg of the fake news, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, when called upon to move motion for one hour adjournment of the plenary held on Thursday last week, sought the indulgence of fellow Senators to listen to him on fake news carried online against the Senate and its President, Godswill Akpabio.
He said: “Mr President and Distinguished colleagues , before moving the motion for one hour adjournment of today’s plenary , let me draw our attention to fake news being peddled against the Senate and its President.
“The fake news is all about alleged plan for new Presidential Aircrafts and readiness of the Senate to expeditiously approve it.
“It at one time indicated that we have a request that the purchase of a new plane be approved for Mr. President, and that the President of the Senate has indicated that regardless of what agenda we are going through, that it will be approved. That was one act.
“Then another section of the media picked on that again, to say the President of the Senate, again leading the 10th Senate, has said whatever Mr. President likes, he should go ahead and do.
“Even as we sit here today, a section of the social media had also been circulating that we had gone into an executive session to discuss about the Presidential request for a new plane and how we are going to approve it.
“Mr. President, the essence of drawing our attention to the fake news , is just to make it clear and to allow Nigerians that there is the presence of a fifth columnist and some other propagandists who are doing everything possible to destabilize this country and also destabilise the parliament.
“Mr. President, I say for the record, at the regard of this Senate, that there is no request before this Senate as of yet. So the approval has not been a basis for us to debate whether we are going to approve or not.
“It has never been discussed either on the floor of this Senate or among individual senators or at the executive session. There is no such request. If the request comes, it is not about Mr. President of the Senate alone.
“It is for 469 elected representatives of the Nigerian people to discuss and take a position. 360 in the House of Reps, 109 in the Senate. But as we speak, Mr. President, there is no such request”
Akpabio’s remarks
In his response to the Senate leader’s submission, the President of the Senate , Godswill Akpabio said: “The Senate leader, It’s not good for us to run the Senate by answering people in the social media because the social media is garbage in, garbage out.
“I was in Zanzibar attending to inter parliamentary union meetings when that information went out that the Senate president said he would approve a brand new plane for the president irrespective of whether Nigerians are suffering or not.
“There was never a time such a statement came from me because I’ve never had any correspondence to approve a plane or not approve a plane and I did not want to answer, but they went to generate it and then they went around as if I was saying that I did not care about the Nigerian people.
“We care about the president. We care about the Nigerian people. We will approve things that will benefit the nigerian people.
“We will approve things that would improve the living standard of the people.
“At the same time, we will also take cognizance of the duties of Mr President. If his vehicle is bad, we will repair the vehicle. If his plane is bad , we will approve money for the repair of the plane or purchase of a new one
“What writers or purveyors of the fake story on approval for purchase of new Aircraft for Mr President, are doing, is anticipatory blackmail against us.
“So, I think that we should ignore them because of what we are doing here. I bring the president’s correspondences to us.
“There was nothing touching on plane or no plane, but I can tell you that when you hear stories such as the death of the vice president of Malawi as a result of defective plane and then you hear stories such as the death of the president of Iran as a result of defective Aircraft or Helicopter, we shouldn’t ever dream and allow such to happen here .
“They know very well that such a request might come in future. And if it’s a necessity, the Senate will consider it . But there is nothing like that before us now”.
Motion on punitive measure against writers of fake news
To further show its detestation against fake news, the Senate on resumption from the one hour adjournment of plenary last week Thursday, resolved to summon reporters of one of the national dailies covering the Senate to face its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions over online report of the paper considered as fake and mischievous.
Senate’s resolution to that effect, followed motion moved by Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (APC Ogun West), upon which he drew the attention of the Senate to online report of one of the national dailies, alleging that the Senate at the closed door session held before the one hour adjournment, had approved request of President Bola Tinubu for procurement of new presidential aircrafts.
Senator Adeola in the motion said: “Mr President and distinguished colleagues, I want to bring to the notice of the Senate that despite clarifications made today on fake news peddled against it on approval of presidential aircrafts for the Presidency, an online of one of the notable national dailies, has reported that the Senate at the closed door session held today, approved a request to that effect from the Presidency.
“This is very worrisome and disturbing because nothing of such, was deliberated upon at the executive session since there was even no request to that effect.
“This is the time for the Senate , to take appropriate action against such reckless falsehood called breaking news , by directing reporters of the affected medium in the Senate , to face its committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions”.
Adaramodu’s planned intervention
Expectedly after the session, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, (APC Ekiti South), at the usual weekly media briefing , assured the affected reporters of his intervention since the fake news was not written by any one of them.