Nigerian politics was shaken up last week after one of the major parties called on a ranking senator from another party to resign.

According to Naija247 news, the Nigerian Senate "dismissed" the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) demand for the resignation of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The party demanded his resignation regarding a "budget padding" scandal.

Senator Abdul Ningi reportedly made the "unsubstantiated" claims, which sparked major controversy in the Nigerian government.

What happened?

Senator Yemi Adaramodu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, defended the senator accused of the budget padding scandal, making it clear that he will not be resigning and writing off the allegations essentially as a political witch hunt.

The situation was so intense that Ningi, the senator who made the allegations against Akpabio, was suspended for not being able to back up his serious allegations.

The outlet noted:

Contrary to the PDP’s assertions, Adaramodu stated that the alleged N3.7 trillion budget padding does not exist in the budget passed by the National Assembly and signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He accused the PDP of fabricating false allegations.

The accused senator received an outpouring of support from many of his colleagues, including Senator Mpigi Barinada, Secretary of the Southern Senators’ Forum, who praised Akpabio as an "effective" Senate president.

She added that he has the support from many other senators in the wake of calls for his resignation based on loose allegations that couldn't be proven.

Adaramodu held nothing back in defending Akpabio.

Defending Akpabio

"The PDP has elevated chicanery to statecraft and fatally failed in their sordid attempt to  hoodwink the unsuspecting public, on the ineffectual but spurious allegations of budget padding. The party’s ludicrous call for the resignation of Senator Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President is unthinkable and shows the party as a massaging balm for falsehood and immoral Legislative outbursts," Adaramodu said.

He doubled down, slamming the PDP for not acknowledging the fact that the allegations were not substantiated in the least during a recent hearing.

He added, "It is shocking that the PDP leadership could not comprehend what transpired at Tuesday’s plenary where the allegations were debated and Senator Abdul Ningi, who was given the ample opportunity to defend himself and prove the budget padding allegations was suspended after he failed to substantiate his claims in the full glare of the public."

It looks like Akpabio doesn't have much to worry about, and it sounds a lot like what's happening in American politics.