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| SARAKI’S FIRST PLENARY SESSION: Senate President Bukola Saraki (M) going in for his first plenary session as President of Senate yesterday. Behind him is Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu. Photo: NAN. |
The rumbles from Tuesday’s election of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President continued, yesterday, with opponents and supporters of the nation’s new number three man stalking one another in furtherance of upturning or sustaining the new order.
Senator Bukola Saraki was nevertheless conciliatory towards his antagonists in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, as he dismissed insinuations of his imminent defection from the party.
His insistence nonetheless, the bad blood flowing from Saraki’s upset of the APC’s official nominee for Senate President flowed into the Senate session, yesterday, as the different camps in the party squabbled over the legitimacy of the inauguration. Besides, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, yesterday, publicly snubbed a handshake from the Senate President at the swearing-in of 28 senators who missed the oath-taking on Tuesday. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in its own intervention, chided the APC over its threat of sanctions on the new National Assembly leadership, saying the ruling party had proved to all that it was not prepared for governance.
Threats, as Saraki takes charge
Meanwhile, associates of Senator Bukola Saraki were, yesterday, trying to explain circumstances under which Senator Ike Ekweremadu emerged Deputy Senate President over the camp’s earlier choice, Senator Ali Ndume. This was upon mutual allegations of culpability between them and the camp of Senator Ahmad Lawan, the official APC candidate for Senate President, over the party’s loss of the office of Deputy Senate President to the PDP.
The threat against Senator Saraki’s seat was made by supporters of Senator Lawan, who spoke under the aegis of the Unity Forum. The group vowed to seek redress in court as it alleged that the inauguration did not follow constitutional provisions.
At yesterday’s session, the first time he took full charge of the Senate, Senator Saraki commenced with the administration of the oath on his rival, Senator Lawan and 27 other APC senators absent at the formal inauguration of the 8th Senate on Tuesday.
The 28 Senators that took their oaths of office and allegiance were said to be waiting at the International Conference Centre, ICC, Abuja, for President Muhammadu Buhari for a meeting, allegedly at the instance of the President at the time the Clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa began inauguration of the 8th Senate that started about 10:03 on Tuesday.
Senator Tinubu snubs Saraki’s handshake
But the oath-taking and allegiance witnessed a mild drama as Senator Oluremi Tinubu, APC, Lagos Central, held back her hands when the Senate President, in line with the tradition after administering the oath stretched out his hands to shake her.
After the exercise, the Senate entered into a closed-door session which lasted about 25 minutes. On returning to plenary, Senator Kabiru Marafa (APC, Zamfara Central) and a member of the Unity Forum raised a Point of Order, citing Order 15 and 43 bordering on his privilege.
Anger over Points of Order
Senator Marafa stated that the report that 51 senators were absent at the time of inauguration portrayed him and others as “irresponsible members of the Senate”, stressing that “singular act caused a lot of embarrassment for me and my family who felt that I was absent.”
He also alleged that he was handed the Senate Standing Order 15 as amended, pointing out that as a member of the 7th Assembly, he could not recall when the Senate Standing Order was amended.
But the Senate President ruled him out of order because he did not take the required procedure of previously informing him, Senate President of his motion as stipulated by the order he quoted.
Senator Bukola Saraki also overruled Senator Barnabas Gemade (APC, Benue North-East) who also stood on Order 15 to object to the way and manner the Senate President ruled Marafa out of order as being “abrupt and too casual.”
However, Senator Mohammed Goje (APC, Gombe Central) while standing on the constitutional provision of Section 64 and sub-section three of the Constitution said that the President was empowered to order proclamation of this Senate as he did.
He said: “For anybody to now say this hallowed chamber should ignore that constitutional provision which is the letter from Mr President, I think that person is saying that we should disobey the Constitution of the country and disobey Mr. President. And I want to say, let it be on record, that whoever decided to go for a meeting there is on his own.”
Meanwhile, the Senate has adjourned plenary till Tuesday June 23, 2015.
Senate to write Buhari on election of leadership
Before proceeding on the two-week break, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ekweremadu moved a motion that was adopted that a letter be sent to the President informing him of the election of presiding officers of the 8th Senate with a view to receiving appropriate communication from him.
He said: “Now, that the principal officers have been elected and while awaiting the naming of other principal officers, I think that it is important that this motion be made. I, therefore, move that a message be sent to Mr. President and Commander-In Chief, informing him that the presiding officers of the 8th National Assembly of the Senate have been elected as follows.
“Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President; Senator Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President.
“That a congratulatory message is sent to the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives on their elections.
“That a message be sent to the following bodies informing them that a quorum of the 8th National Assembly has assembled and is ready to receive any communication. They are the African Union, AU; The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, CPA; Inter Parliamentary Union, IPU; ECOWAS Parliament; Pan African Parliament.”
Lawan’s Unity Forum vows to go to court
Following the session, the Lawan leaning Unity Forum at a press briefing vowed to seek a judicial review of the process that led to Saraki’s emergence.
“This process which remains unconstitutional cannot confer legitimacy on the elected Senate President.
“Our right to participate in the election of the Senate President is a constitutional right which cannot be taken by any person or group of persons,” Senator Gemade who led the group said.
He also explained the circumstances surrounding the absence of some of the APC Senators when the inauguration started.
He also accused their colleagues in the Like Mind group of being responsible for the party’s loss of the position of Deputy Senate President which according to him, should have been produced by the majority party.
Gemade accuses Saraki’s Like Minds group
According to him, “We received an invitation from the office of the National Chairman of our party, the All Progressives Congress, which indicated the request of Mr. President to have a brief meeting with all the APC elected Senators and House of Representatives members at the International Conference Centre before the inauguration of the National Assembly at 10am.
“In our effort to meet up with the time for the inauguration, we rushed to honour the invitation of Mr. President and while at the Conference Centre, news filtered to us that the Clerk of the National Assembly has started the process of election of the Senate President in our absence.
“The Clerk of the National Assembly, knowing full well that the quorum for election of the Senate President has not been met, went ahead to conduct an election that shuts the door to about 53 other Senators which would remain unacceptable until what would meet democratic parameters is done.”
Besides, he said, “We did not say that the quorum was not formed for the inauguration. We said the quorum was not formed for the election of the President. And that should be two-thirds of the senators present.
“We like to make it very clear that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria gives the letter for the Proclamation and if he invites us for a meeting at 9am and states that due communication had been made to the National Assembly and before leadership is elected, the Clerk is the one that receives the correspondence of Mr President that there must be a slight delay in order to enable him speak with senators of the APC before they come and commence the process.
“We had to rush from the meeting of the President, knowing full well that there would be a delay to accommodate everybody. But suddenly, we were told at that meeting that the election was already going on; the nomination had already closed. And this we find extremely unusual.”
Vanguard learnt yesterday that even though communication was made from the Presidency for the inauguration to be delayed, sources disclosed that the Clerk of the National Assembly did not receive the correspondence.
Like Minds counter, says Saraki’s election in order
But defending the inauguration of the 8th Senate, Senators supporting Saraki’s emergence under the aegis of Like Minds group insisted that the whole process followed the necessary constitutional provisions.
A source close to Saraki said yesterday that the loss of the office of Deputy Senate President to the PDP was attributable to absence of APC senators who were at the ICC.
The source disclosed that Senator Saraki did not encourage Ekweremadu to run to be his deputy, saying that Ekweremadu’s emergence was forced on the few APC senators present by the PDP senators who at that time were in the majority.
According to the source, “on the floor on the inauguration day the PDP senators discovered that most of the APC senators were absent during the Senate President’s election. They then capitalised on this when it was time to nominate DSP, after Ndume was nominated, the PDP stood up and nominated Ekweremadu for DSP, a development that shocked Saraki.
“With PDP being in the majority at the time of voting, Ekweremadu won. If you look at the voting result you will see that it was across party lines. Senator Saraki anticipated this scenario, but could not help it,” the source disclosed.
“Instead of coming to the floor for election, the Lawan group were in ICC, waiting for the President who wasn’t aware there was a meeting.”
Why we weren’t at ICC meeting, by Like Minds
Giving reasons why they did not go to the ICC for the controversial meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, the Like Minds in a statement yesterday said:
“We went to that venue on the 8th, we waited for the VP for hours; there was no VP. And the VP was not even available. So, having seen that on the 8th, then around 7am to 8am on 9th June, we got another text which said we should report. It’s no longer the Vice President, it’s now the President, having being deceived yesterday (Monday). Do you think anybody who is rational will now also go for another meeting?
“Afterall the President did not appear at the ICC. The Buhari that we know cannot and will not give two contrary opinions, especially one that is against the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The Letter of Proclamation was written, duly signed, the time stated, date stated; he will not do otherwise. It is not true that we disrespected the President and if the President wants to do that, he would have called.
Saraki lauds Buhari, adds no going back to PDP
Meanwhile, the Senate President has commended President Buhari for his positive stance on the outcome of the National Assembly leadership contest, describing it as a “great mark of leadership” and a demonstration of the President’s commitment to democracy.
In a statement issued by his media office on Wednesday, Dr. Saraki commended President Buhari for remaining steadfast in his commitment to the principle of non-interference in National Assembly politics even in the face of great pressure on him to act otherwise.
“This shows that Mr. President is a man of great conviction who, in his own words, belongs to everyone and to no one,” the statement read.
On a similar note, Dr. Saraki also denied that he had a plan to decamp to the People’s Democratic Party, describing the insinuation as “absurd and laughable.” According to him, “it is just cheap blackmail by political adversaries who want to call a dog a bad name in order to hang it. Those making such desperate allegations should remember that I willingly left the PDP on matters of principles when the party was in power. Is it now that the party is out of government and in opposition that I will now return, having worked so hard for my party in the last general elections?” he queried.
He urged all members of the National Assembly to put politicking behind them and settle down for the proper business of legislating. “Our country is going through very trying times. We have the challenge of insecurity in the North East.
APC naive, unprepared for governance, says PDP
The PDP also yesterday, rejected threats by the APC on the new Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The party in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh said the claims of the APC were indicative of a party aiming to cover its naivety, inexperience and unpreparedness for governance.
The PDP also admonished the APC to shed its arrogance, eat the humble pie and get more organized for governance, adding that it lacks the capacity, capability and means to sanction duly-elected leaders of the National Assembly.
“Nothing can be more astonishing than the whining by the APC that the PDP at the last minute expressed its preference for Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively after it had earlier stated that it was not interested in the positions. This calls to question the capacity, experience and skills of APC leaders on political matters and we have no apology whatsoever for their naivety.
“The APC is merely suffering the consequences of the greed, lust for power and inordinate ambitions of their leaders. They should note that Nigerians have since moved ahead with the new leaders in the National Assembly and should stop wasting their energy on propaganda and blackmails to heat up the polity”.
The PDP further condemned Tuesday’s botched attempts by the APC to close the National Assembly and stop lawmakers from carrying out their constitutional duties, as well as the threats to the newly-elected leaders as “totally against the tenets of democracy, the principles of separation of powers and independence of the legislature as enshrined in the constitution”.
“Indeed, APC’s disdain for democratic norms, the rule of law and the sanctity of the legislature, coupled with its excessive thirst for power portends grave threat to our survival as a nation and calls for serious concern among Nigerians and all lovers of democracy and freedom world over,” the statement said.
The party however reaffirmed its determination to continue to work with like minds from other political parties especially in the National Assembly to ensure that the values of democracy and good governance it had already entrenched in the polity are not eroded under the APC.
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