Why Senate Leadership Failed to Read Defection Letter David Mark, Senate President • APC senators protest, service chiefs confirmed •Another opposition House member joins PDP Omololu Ogunmade and Mohammed Bello Fresh facts have emerged over why the Senate leadership has refused for two days in a row to read the defection letter signed by 11 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators on the floor of the upper chamber. The defecting senators had written a letter to Mark, informing him of their decision to cross over to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). Accordingly, they expected the letter to be read before the close of plenary on Wednesday but when it was not read, they assumed it would be read yesterday, effectively lending credence to their defection. However, this again was resisted by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over yesterday’s proceedings in the absence of Mark. Ekweremadu’s decision to follow in the footsteps of Mark caused tempers to flare in the Senate as APC senators vehemently protested the perceived deliberate decision by the leadership of the Senate not to read the defection letter that was submitted to Mark on Wednesday. Despite the rancour, the Senate, without a dissenting voice from either side of the aisle, endorsed the appointment of the four new service chiefs recently nominated by President Goodluck Jonthan. But the drama over defections continued in the House of Representatives, when yet another lawmaker from Nasarawa State crossed over from the APC to PDP, effectively giving the ruling party a very slim majority in the lower chamber. A source in the Senate explained to THISDAY that the decision by the leadership of the upper chamber of the National Assembly not to read the letter signed by the 11 defecting senators was a tactical move aimed at protecting them from losing their seats, One source explained that the Standing Rules of the Senate bar the senate president from mentioning any matter that is already in the court as this would amount to sub judice. He said Order 53(5) states that “if in the opinion of the senate president any matter is already in court, it will be considered sub judice and shall not be mentioned on the floor”. This rule, the source explained, bars the senate president or whoever is presiding in his stead from bringing up matters already in a court of competent jurisdiction. He added that even the defecting senators had referred to this standing rule of the Senate in their first letter to Mark last week, which indicated that they were aware the senate president’s hands would be tied. It was for this reason, he explained, that Mark and Ekweremadu have refused to read the letter. Besides, the source said the PDP is also confident that it has a solid case against the defecting lawmakers and would most likely win its case against them at the courts, as the constitution is very clear that a lawmaker can only retain his seat when a party is factionalised. “For this reason, it has been waiting for the letter of the defecting senators to be read on the floor of the Senate, following which PDP senators would immediately pounce and raise a point of order citing Order 53(5) notifying the senate president or his deputy that the Standing Rules of the Senate have been contravened. “In the light of this contravention, the party could push for the defecting senators to lose their seats,” the source said. Irrespective of this standing rule, which bars the Senate leadership from commenting on any matter already at the courts, when yesterday’s proceedings began and Ekweremadu called on the Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, to introduce the business of the day, he was interrupted by Senator Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central), who raised a point of order, drawing the attention of the Senate to Order 53 of the Senate Standing Rules, stating that his privilege to write a letter to the senate president for the knowledge of the entire parliament had been breached. The Order reads: “Any senator may rise at any time to speak upon a matter of privilege suddenly arising and he shall be prepared to move without notice, a motion declaring that a contempt or breach of privilege has been committed or referring the matter to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges. But if the matter is raised in Committee of the Whole Senate, the chairman shall leave the chair to report the progress.” After reading the order, Saraki said: “On a notice which by a letter was communicated yesterday to your chair (Mark) on notification of the change of political party by myself and 10 other senators from the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress. “So I felt that it was necessary for me to bring to your attention that the letter has not yet been read.” Responding, Ekweremadu said the senate president had travelled “and before he travelled, he told me you had a discussion with him and agreed to have a meeting on Monday. That was what he told me on the subject.” Dissatisfied with Ekweremadu’s explanation, Saraki fired back: “That is not the case sir. I submitted the letter as of yesterday and he indicated the intention that he would like to meet with the senators. “But the two issues, submitting the letter and his request for the meeting, do not seem that the meeting was subject to the bringing of the letter. So I felt that the two are separate issues.” On this Ekweremadu replied: “Unfortunately, this is my own understanding of your dialogue with him and he is not here. So I believe that we would stand down any issue relating to that until he comes back.” After this conversation, Saraki took his seat but was visibly dissatisfied. However, as the plenary proceeded, some APC senators moved from their seats to have a group discussion with Saraki on what to do over the matter. Having consulted among themselves, they decided to reject Ekweremadu’s explanation and possibly compel him to read the letter, which became apparent when they ascended the platform where the deputy senate president was presiding to push their case. Within moments, more opposition senators had joined their colleagues at the platform and quietly protested the fact that the letter had not been read. They also attempted to persuade Ekweremadu to read it. As the argument ensued, gradually the chamber became rowdy, especially after Senator Danjuma Goje, one of the defecting senators, who came into the chamber late, again raised another point of order, repeating Order 15 that Saraki had read earlier. After reading it, he again protested the decision by Senate leadership to remain silent over the defection letter and demanded that the letter be read. He said: “Yesterday, myself, Senator Danjuma Goje, representing Gombe Central and 10 others presented a letter to the senate president, formally informing him to inform the chamber that we have defected from the PDP to APC. “We thought the letter would have been read yesterday but it was not and we feel that it should be read today. I feel it is our right and privilege for that letter to be read. Myself, I have defected and 10 other senators have also signed that letter defecting from PDP to APC. So I demand that the letter be read.” Responding again, Ekweremadu said: “First of all, I think you came late. We have discussed this matter earlier before you arrived and we have taken a decision on this. We have taken a decision on that. He (Mark) did not give me any letter to read.” At this juncture, emotions had reached fever pitch as APC senators started shouting that no decision had been taken as Ekweremadu had alleged. As tempers flared, the situation further degenerated into a shouting match between Senators Mudashiru Hussein (Osun West) and Boluwaji Kunlere (Ondo South). Amid the confusion, which effectively stalled proceedings, Minority Leader, Senator George Akume, again protested the development, saying if some lawmakers had defected in the House of Representatives, it was wrong of the Senate to attempt to proclaim a similar move as unconstitutional. “Mr. President, I speak on behalf of those of us who have sworn to protect the constitution of this country. Mr. President, you are not new to this system. We are all senators of the Federal Republic. This country operates a bicameral legislature. This country has only one constitution that guides the country. “Therefore, what is constitutional in the House of Representatives cannot be unconstitutional in the Senate,” he protested. Akume was apparently reacting to earlier insinuation that Mark had insisted that every defecting senator must sign their defection letters individually as opposed to the joint letter signed and presented by the senators. Mark had reportedly said they could not jointly sign a defection letter since they were not jointly elected. But Ekweremadu interrupted him, saying: “Please, I have to stop you. You have to wait. I don’t see what the problem is. Senator Saraki raised a Point of Order that he sent a letter containing the names of senators who want to defect. “He said he gave it to Distinguished Senator Mark who is the President of the Senate. Today, Mark is not here and before he travelled, he told me that there was a discussion they had. And I appealed to Senator Saraki to wait until Senator Mark comes back. “My own understanding is that the discussion had something to do with the letter. So there is no way you will tell me to believe somebody who is here and I don’t believe somebody who is not here. That would be unfair to Senator Mark. “My appeal is that we leave all these matters, make progress and by Tuesday, Mark will be here. If there is any need to read the letter, then we will read the letter.” But Senator Anthony Adeniyi (Ekiti South) was of the view that Ekweremadu was only trying to dodge his responsibility by insisting that the matter should wait till Tuesday when Mark would be around to preside. He therefore cited Order 26, which states: “In the absence of the senate president, the deputy senate president shall perform all the duties and functions of the senate president.” This submission was followed by an uproar from the floor as Adeniyi added: “Fortunately, the deputy senate president told this chamber that he is aware of the letter.” Coming on the heels of Adeniyi’s remarks, Senator Oluremi Tinubu again cited Order 14(b), which states: “Whenever a matter of privilege arises, it shall be taken up immediately.” On this Ekweremadu said: “I have already done that. I have dealt with that and we are making progress. Senator Saraki raised it and I have ruled on it. Let us not waste our time on this please. Let us leave this matter until the senate president comes back. It will be his word against that of Saraki’s.” After this, the heated session was brought to a close as the APC senators along with their defecting counterparts returned to their seats, looking forward to what would play out on Tuesday. The rancour in the senate, notwithstanding, the upper chamber yesterday cleared the service chiefs nominated by the president without a single dissenting voice. The confirmation followed the presentation of the report by the Joint Senate Committee on the Navy, Army and Air Force by Senator George Sekibo, which recommended them for confirmation. The officers so confirmed were Air Marshal Alex Badeh (Chief of Defence Staff), Major-General Kenneth Minimah (Chief of Army Staff), Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin (Chief of Naval Staff) and Air Vice Marshall Adesola Amosu (Chief of Air Staff). APC had last Thursday asked the senators to block the passage of 2014 budget as well as confirmation of ministerial nominees and service chiefs in protest of the alleged harassment of its members in Rivers State. But before the senate put the recommendation of the joint committee to vote, Akume presented the position of his colleagues in the opposition, saying they had examined the credentials of the military chiefs and found them eminently qualified for the appointments and therefore had no objection to their confirmation. He added: “We want a military that will protect us as we move towards 2015.” He also urged them to be neutral as military men are elsewhere. While presenting the report, Sekibo said the committee was satisfied with the credentials and performance of the service chiefs during the screening exercise. In his remark after the confirmation, Ekweremadu said: “We believe that at this trying moment of our nationhood, they will live up to our expectations. As has been said, this is the first time the law requiring the confirmation of service chiefs by the National Assembly is adhered to. “We are proud of our democracy that it is growing and we believe that going forward, we will continue to do the right thing and of course, this is the standard practice in most developed countries of the world, especially those places where democracy is practised.” Also yesterday, the second reading of the 2014 budget was suspended till Tuesday as the lawmakers could not conclude the debate on the document. Speaking on the document, Senator Kunlere (Ondo South) said it was unfortunate that some of his colleagues were told by their party to block the budget’s passage, adding that the senators had forgotten that they were also part and parcel of the government. He also said contrary to their perception that the government by the ruling party is bad, the general public believes that the senators are drawing more than enough from the government and therefore are part of the problem. He further submitted that they had no moral justification to isolate themselves from government activities whether good or bad. Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, the ruling PDP once again assumed its majority status, albeit by a very slim majority of one lawmaker, when Hon. David Ombugadu, a legislator from Nasarawa State crossed carpet from the APC to PDP. Ombugadu, who informed the House of his decision via a letter he wrote which was read by Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, said his reason for jettisoning the APC came about after consultation with his constituents. This drew applause and jubilation from PDP members in the House, just as the APC lawmakers stood up, chanting “APC, Change”, which took the Speaker some minutes before he could restore order in the chamber. With this latest defection, the PDP now has 174 members, against 172 APC members. In the meantime, the House will commence deliberations on the 2014 budget on Tuesday. House chairman on Media and Publicity, Zakari Mohammed (APC, Kwara) said the consideration of the budget was suspended in order to enable the lower chamber conclude action on the review of the 1999 Constitution.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 06:07:21 +0000
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