Akpabio Defends Senate Rules as Pillars of Democracy, Says Discipline Ensures Stability

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has defended the Nigerian Senate’s Standing Orders, describing them as vital instruments for maintaining fairness, stability, and respect within the legislature — not outdated ceremonial traditions.

“The Nigerian Senate’s Standing Orders are not ceremonial relics from the past,” Akpabio stated. “They are the living constitution of the institution, carefully designed to preserve fairness, consistency, and the sanctity of the legislative process.”

He emphasized that the legislature has both the authority and responsibility to discipline its members when necessary, drawing comparisons with established democracies where lawmakers face suspension or expulsion for violating parliamentary conduct.

“In respected parliaments like the British House of Commons, members who flout the rules face swift consequences. Nigeria’s Senate has every right to uphold similar standards,” Akpabio said.

Describing the 10th Senate as “a chamber of resilience and balance,” the Senate President stressed that its leadership would continue to champion “freedom within order” as the truest form of democracy.

“When the chamber asserts that it will not be held hostage by the disruptive instincts of any single member, it reaffirms collective responsibility over individual grandstanding,” he noted. “Strong legislatures endure not by silencing dissent, but by ensuring that dissent respects the bounds of procedure.”

Akpabio added that his leadership style is defined by firmness and inclusion, aimed at keeping the upper chamber a stabilizing force amid rising populism and public cynicism.

“Leadership of this sort does not seek applause; it seeks stability,” he said. “By upholding its Standing Orders, the Senate has reclaimed its moral authority and shown that rules, when properly enforced, are not instruments of oppression but shields against institutional decay.”

His remarks come amid renewed public debate over legislative discipline and the limits of free expression within parliamentary proceedings.