The Senate has formally condemned and dissociated itself from scathing remarks made by Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who recently described the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) as “a bunch of criminals and thieves.”
During a plenary session on Thursday, June 11, 2026, the upper legislative chamber explicitly clarified that the Edo State lawmaker’s explosive comments represent his personal opinion and do not reflect the official position, resolution, findings, or determination of the Senate as an institution.
The institutional pushback was finalised through resolutions adopted following a motion sponsored by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele.
During the heated deliberations, lawmakers strongly criticised Oshiomhole’s statements, characterising them as an unwarranted and unprofessional attack on the character of public officers.
High-ranking legislators, including Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro, cautioned the former Governor of Edo State against making defamatory remarks that could undermine the integrity of public institutions, with several colleagues demanding that Oshiomhole publicly withdraw his statement.
The Senate’s dissociation comes barely 24 hours after a major institutional clash involving its Committee on Public Accounts, which had reportedly recommended issuing a warrant of arrest against the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, over an alleged failure to honor legislative invitations.
In an apparent bid to rein in its own panels, the Senate used Thursday’s resolutions to declare that no internal committee possesses the independent authority to authorize or execute an arrest warrant.
The upper chamber maintained that any such punitive legal action must strictly comply with the provisions of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act and can only be executed with the express, written approval of the President of the Senate.