The Nigerian Senate has expressed confidence in Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the entire leadership of the Senate during the plenary on Thursday.
Plateau News reports that Senators passed the vote of confidence during the session, following rumors that emerged online about a plot to impeach Akpabio.
The reports claimed that operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) had stormed the National Assembly (NASS) complex on Wednesday amid the alleged impeachment plot.
The rumors suggested that a faction of disgruntled northern senators, who were reportedly dissatisfied with President Bola Tinubu, was attempting to revive efforts to remove Akpabio from his position as Senate President.
In response to these reports, Akpabio dismissed the allegations of an impeachment plot during the plenary, stating: “We are here, sitting peacefully, doing our work, oblivious to the mischief happening behind us.
If they have a lot of traffic… Whoever brought out this fake news must be getting a lot of payment because of the traffic going on.
I hope the public understands that this is totally fake news and the chamber is very stable, and the issue of impeachment does not come up.”
Akpabio also acknowledged that this type of falsehood is something they face daily and expressed concern that AI might be used to manipulate stories, likely for the purpose of generating traffic and earning money from platforms like YouTube.
Following his remarks, Akpabio referred the fake news to the Senate Committee on Special Duties for further investigation.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Special Duties, Shehu Kaka, responded swiftly, pledging to investigate the matter and report back to the Senate.