Given that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has been listed as a Prosecution Witness by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for the trial of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan whose hearing is slated for September 2025, a legislative law expert, Tonye Clinton Jaja has called for the election of a temporary Senate President, asserting that any bill enacted with Akpabio as presiding officer is null and void from now until September 2025.
Details of Jaja’s argument are contained in the open letter below.
OPEN LETTER TO PBAT, NSA, DSS, IGP, THE 109 SENATORS AND SERGEANT-AT-ARMS, NASS: PLEASE KINDLY ENFORCE COMPLIANCE WITH THE JUDGMENT OF HON. BINTA NYAKO BY ELECTION OF A PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE PRO TEMPORE BECAUSE ANY BILL ENACTED WITH AKPABIO AS PRESIDING OFFICER IS NULL AND VOID FROM NOW UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2025
By Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja
Your Excellency, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, National Security Adviser (NSA), Director-General of the Department of State Security Services (DSS), Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and SERGEANT-AT-ARMS of the National Assembly, Sirs,
By way of re-introduction, my name is Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja. I am a lawyer with specialisation in the field of legislative law, having been awarded a PhD in law degree with specialisation in Legislative Drafting by the University of London.
As evidence of recognition of my specialisation the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho has engaged my services to train their lawyers on legislative drafting since October 2024.
You can verify my expertise as a legislative lawyer by asking Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN who currently serves as the Pro-Chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State.
As a concerned citizen of Nigeria, I am offering this free legal advisory to alert the law enforcement agencies of an imminent break-down of law and order if not well managed.
Based on the judgment of 4th July 2025, delivered by Hon. Justice Binta Nyako, the Senate President (His Excellency Godswill Obot Akpabio-GOA and Senator Neda Imasuen) were both found in violation of Section 63 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.
As part of the judgment, the Hon. Justice Binta Nyako directed that the Standing Orders of the Senate, 2023 should be amended to bring it into harmony with the said Nigerian Constitution.
Furthermore, the Senate President has been listed as a Prosecution Witness by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for a trial of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan whose hearing is slated for September 2025.
In view of the foregoing (and since the Senate President has not submitted any appeal against the said judgment), he is legally barred from presiding over plenary sessions of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria until after the hearing of the case in September 2025.
Under the circumstances in accordance with Order 22 of the Standing Orders of the Senate, 2023, the 109 Senators are to elect a President of the Senate Pro Tempore to preside over the plenary sessions of the Senate from now until September 2025.
Furthermore, by virtue of Order 41 of the said Standing Orders of the Senate, 2023 (and other relevant Orders such as Order 109) the Senate has to enact a Resolution.
The said Resolution is to deal with this a matter of URGENT NATIONAL IMPORTANCE because the functioning of the National Assembly has been stalled since the year 2024 because 146 Bills from the House of Representatives have not received concurrence from the Senate as required under Section 53 of the Nigerian Constitution.
Already, the National Assembly Constitutional Review Committees of both the Senate and House of Representatives have received a Memorandum calling for alteration/amendment of 53 of the Nigerian Constitution to permit either Chamber of the National Assembly to submit its Bills directly to the President for assent.
This move has arisen to prevent a situation such as the current situation wherein the entire business and machinery of law-making would be halted because of the failure of one chamber of the National Assembly to perform its duty of concurrence of Bills.
In the year 2022, I was the foreign legal consultant to the Hon. Attorney-General of the Kingdom of Lesotho when a nearly similar constitutional crisis was brewing between their Senate and their National Assembly.
So once again my free legal advisory is to avert such a similar situation.
Last year, I provided free legal advisory to the Director of the National Assembly Command of the DSS when a crisis was brewing amongst staff of the National Assembly who were planning a protest against the moves by the Senate to enact a Bill for an Act to extend the age of retirement of the immediate past Clerk to the National Assembly.
Fortunately, that crisis was averted when the said Director of the DSS took my free legal advisory to the DG of DSS who in turn briefed the President who graciously declined assent to the said Bill.
I come in peace as a concerned citizen who wishes for the peace and progress of our beloved country!!!
Yours faithfully,
Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja,
8th July 2025
“This is huge! So, any bill passed with Akpabio as presiding officer is basically null and void till September 2025? The court’s judgment is clear, and it seems like a major setback for the Senate President. What’s next?”