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The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, on Thursday dismissed the report of a fight with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Bamidele was reacting to a post on social media about an altercation with the former Akwa Ibom governor at the National Assembly Complex on Wednesday.
In a statement issued by his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, the Senate leader said the reported altercation between the two principal officers of the Senate was farther from the truth.
The lawmaker added that the fake news currently being circulated by an individual he described as a “serial blackmailer and cash-and-carry journalist.”
The statement read: “The post is about an alleged altercation and physical fight between Leader of the Senate, Bamidele and President of the Senate, Akpabio, on Wednesday.
“For the record, it is a verifiable fact that Bamidele has never been involved in physical assault in over two decades of his political trajectory.
“Not even when he was a young man leading the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) as President.
“It is surprising that the purveyor of this misleading information, in his selfish agenda and unprofessional conduct, threw ethos of journalism into waste bin and decided to feast on roadside gists to tarnish the image of the senate leader.
“We are aware that the fake news is meant to cause disaffection within the senate and by extension; heating up the political system.
“The senate leader, president of the senate, and other principal officers of the senate together received the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. YU Dunhai, and his delegation.”
Bamidele warned attention seekers to be careful and not take his gentlemanliness for granted.
“Henceforth, the leader will be forced to use the instrumentality of the law to protect himself and his office, as enshrined in the CyberCrime Act, 2015.
“We, therefore, urge the public to disregard this misinformation and treat it with the disrespect it entirely deserves,” the statement added.
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