Taiye Odewale: Vote Of Confidence That Diffused Tension In Senate Cc: @bukolasaraki

By Taiye Odewale

Wednesday August 5,2015

In yet another dramatic way, the Senate President, BUKOLA SARAKI (APC, Kwara Central) in the face of strident criticisms cum opposition from a nucleus of the 59 senators of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over his emergence as President of the 8th Senate on the 9th of June this year and the Senate leadership as presently constituted, got an overwhelming vote of confidence from 81 out of the 108 serving senators across party lines penultimate Tuesday on resumption from trouble shooting recess that lasted five weeks.

It would be recalled that before and during the five weeks recess, the nucleus of the APC senators against the Senate leadership headed by SARAKI, under the aegis of Senate Unity Forum ( SUF), had made the Senate somewhat unstable by singular fact that they were the group APC leadership at the national level wanted to form the Senate leadership as far as the two presiding positions and four principal positions meant for senators of the ruling party are concerned.

For record purposes, the positions are Senate president, Deputy Senate President, Senate Leader, Deputy Leader, Chief Whip of the Senate and Deputy Whip which are all occupied now, apart from the Chief Whip of the Senate, by Senators never supported for such purposes by the APC National leadership i.e, SARAKI as Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu (PDP Enugu West) as Deputy Senate President, Ali Ndume (APC Borno South) as Senate Leader, Bala Ibn Na’Allah (APC Kebbi South) as Deputy Leader and Francis Alimikhena (APC Edo North) as Deputy Whip of the Senate.

Accordingly with expected moral backing of the APC national leadership, the SUF group otherwise known as anti – SARAKI or pro Lawan senators, being the anointed APC candidate for the position of President of the 8th Senate before the dramatic emergence of SARAKI in their absence on the day of inauguration when all of them were said to been at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja for a purported meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, started firing from all cylinders available to them to get rid of the Senate leadership headed by SARAKI using the alleged forgery of the 2015 Senate Standing Rules as the strongest missile for that purpose.

The alleged forgery of the 2015 Senate Standing Orders as a missile of dismantling the leadership of the 8th Senate as presently constituted was potently fired through the media during the recess by the group to the point of succeeding in making it a very big criminal case against the SARAKI led Senate leadership in the eye of the public and by extension, portraying it as a crumbling one whose head, or heads, were set for cut off, at Senate resumption penultimate Tuesday, 28th July, 2015.

The alleged forgery according to the group through a petition written to that effect by its secretary, Suleiman Hunkuyi (APC Kaduna North) to the Inspector – General of Police, Solomon Arase early last month, was a criminal act that must be investigated by the Police and appropriate legal action taken against any senator, senators or persons found to be involved.

The petition reads in part: “We write to bring to your attention, the existence of the fraudulent introduction of a 2015 Senate Standing Rules as amended.

“We wish to attach the original and authentic Standing Order for 2011 that was used by the 7th Senate, Annexure A.

“We again attach the annex here to, a purported amended Standing Orders 2015, which was used by the Clerk to the National Assembly (along with the Clerk of the Senate) in inaugurating the 8th Senate on June 9, 2015.

“The so called new Standing Orders purport to allow for secret instead of the open ballot system that has been prevalent in all Senate elections as permitted by the extant rules.

“This infraction, among others, arises from the fraudulent production of the Rules without an approved consideration by the 7th Senate.

“At no time was the Standing Orders of the Senate amended during the entire life of the 7th Senate neither has the 8th Senate sat for long enough to produce the rules now being circulated and in use.”

The police, on the strength of the petition, subsequently quizzed the leadership of the 7th Senate, including Senators David Mark; his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu; former Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba; and the former chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang and in particular, the Clerk to the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa.

Stoking the fire of opposition against the SARAKI led Senate leadership more, during the recess, was the most vocal member of the group, Senator Kabiru Marafa (APC Zamfara Central) who in different interviews and press releases threatened fire and brimstone that the Senate would be made ungovernable if the leadership does not give way at resumption.

Marafa in one of such outbursts even extended the scope of the group’s disagreement with the Senate leadership to PDP senators plan of installing Godwill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom North West) as Senate Minority Leader which eventually came to pass upper Tuesday.

He said: “Reported plan of some PDP senators in collaboration with the Senate leadership to make Akpabio the minority leader of the 8th Senate is a violation of the ranking rule of the Senate as the same rule was violated in the appointment of the presiding officers despite the fact that APC had properly guided the presiding officers by nominating ranking senators for the leadership positions.

“The leadership under SARAKI violated rule 3 (2) to appoint both Senators Ali Ndume and Bala Ibn Na’Allah as leader and deputy leader of the Senate and now we hear another alleged absurdity that Senator Godswill Akpabio may emerge Senate minority leader.

“Senators Eyinnaya Abaribe (PDP Abia South), James Manager (PDP Delta South), George Sekibo (PDP Rivers East), Emmanuel Paulker (PDP Bayelsa Central), Emmanuel Bwacha (PDP Taraba South), Sonni Ogbuoji (PDP Ebonyi South), Andy Uba (PDP Anambra South) Uche Ekwenife (PDP Anambra Central) and Owan Enoh (PDP Cross River Central) among others, should not be in chamber while a fresher like Akpabio become their leader.

“I swear to God, we will not allow this impunity to stand and a fresh one to be added. By the way won’t somebody ask him, who constituted these caucuses they are talking about?

“Who is the chairman or leader of North West caucus for example? Who is the secretary? If there is, who appointed or elected them, where and using which law?

“We all know how the leadership of the political parties and how they emerge. We know the supremacy of the political party (section 65 -2b) of the constitution. Let somebody tell us the supremacy of any caucus and where it’s hinged.

“May be they want stalemate in the 8th Senate looking at how they are running the place. They better shut it permanently than to reconvene and attempt to run it without respecting the rules.

“Oga Senate President, please read order one. They are misleading you. Nigeria no spoil reach this level, God forbid.

“We will force you on resumption to read order 1 and proceed by its provision. Unless if you want to reduce the red chamber to a jungle where everybody will do what he or she like to do and nobody can call anybody to order.

“Sir, (Senate President) you are the custodian and greatest beneficiary of the content of that red book, if you choose to violate it, we would help you to bring yourself down.”

A threat that created serious apprehension in the polity up till Tuesday morning, with regard to what may likely be the turn of event at Senate resumption that day.

But that was not to be, when the Senate eventually had its session on the said day. Though Marafa raised two legged points of orders to one, it was in nullity.

All the proceedings of the 8th Senate since after its inauguration on 9th June 2015 to 28th July when it reconvened from five weeks trouble – shooting recess on the grounds of being carried out on a document allegedly forged and two, to stop the approval of Akpabio as Minority Leader on the ground of not being a ranking senator as specified in the Senate rules and in line with its traditions, but the well planned move by the 81 other senators to counter any untoward development against the Senate leadership on the floor of the Senate that day, frustrated his solo opposition or better put, one man squad riot against the Senate leadership as presently constituted by ensuring his being ruled out of order on both grounds.

Marafa’s solo effort in that respect goes thus: “I want to posit that the activities of the Senate on the 9th of June stand because it was covered by the proclamation of Mr President which states that the proceedings of the chamber shall start by 10:00am. But all other activities of the Senate from the time, but not limited to the oath of office, is a nullity because it was not done within the time frame specified by relevant provisions of our internal rules as stated in order 13(2). The activities of the Senate on the 23rd and 24th are equally a nullity

“Secondly based on Order 3(2) of our rules, with due respect to our colleagues in the other party, the rule book regulate the proceedings of the chamber. This book brings about law and order in this chamber. This is the book that stipulates the dos and don’ts

“Order 3 (2) states that nomination of senators to serve as presiding officers and appointment of principal officers and other office of the Senate or on any parliamentary delegation shall be in accordance with the ranking of senators.

“The nomination made by the PDP is not in accordance with the ranking and is therefore null and void”.

A submission technically knocked off by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu who through a counter point of order submitted that Marafa, as a member of the ruling party (APC) has no business in kicking against procedures and decisions arrived at by PDP senators on a position meant for them and not for the generality of the 108 senators.

Little wonder that the Senate President, BUKOLA SARAKI, in ruling him out of order, described Marafa’s antagonism against Akpabio as Minority Leader of the Senate, as a “case of somebody crying more than the bereaved”, adding that if any antagonism was to be made at all against Akpabio’s minority leadership of the Senate, it supposed to have come from one of those senators, Marafa referred to, as ranking”.

The session took a dramatic turn thereafter with a motion not listed on the order paper, but suddenly and strategically moved through a point of order by Senator Samuel Anyanwu (PDP Imo East) in which 81 senators across party lines signed for passing a vote of confidence on the Senate President and the entire leadership of the Senate as presently constituted.

Anyanwu in the motion seconded by Senator Dino Melaye (APC Kogi West) notes with dismay, the continued harassment of the Senate and senators, the National Assembly management and spouses of senators by security agencies of government.

He added that inspite of that, the Senate should remain focused in the performance of its constitutional duties and responsibilities without fear or favour, especially on matters of interest and importance to the ordinary people of Nigeria in view of the enormous challenges facing the nation.

They also averred that the vote of confidence on the leadership of the Senate as presently constituted was very necessary in view of the sustained interference in the internal affairs of the Senate by detractors and media propaganda against the Senate and senators by selfish politicians.

The motion got express approval of the Senate without debate on account of already securing more than 2/3 supports of the entire senators before presentation and in the process, shut the door against any other move of dissent by the 26 senators remaining in the SUF group since 33 APC senators joined 48 PDP senators in co-sponsoring the motion.

Little wonder that while putting the motion to voice votes, the Senate President , BUKOLA SARAKIsaid: “There is no need for debate on this motion since more than 2/3 majority of the senators (81), have identified with it. We only need to put the two prayers to vote”, which he did, and got overwhelming yes votes from the senators without any nay vote from any of the remaining 26 senators with attendant diffusion of tension in a session earlier anticipated to be tension soaked and explosive.

Analytically, as events turn out on the floor of the Senate penultimate Tuesday, it was arguably an anticlimax, but a positive development for the present Senate leadership who going by the numbers of senators who assented to the vote of confidence passed, have only 26 APC senators left in the Senate Unity Group to contend with, as opposition elements, a scenario that apparently shows that the Senate as it is, presently, is driven by the 49 PDP senators in terms of direction with support of a fragment part of the 59 APC senators who ordinarily supposed to be the driving force of the Senate along with their other party colleagues in the SARAKI’s camp.

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