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Tag: Bukola Saraki

  • 2016 Budget was rushed – Senate Leader

    2016 Budget was rushed – Senate Leader

    The Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, on Monday said that the problems the 2016 budget is presently having is because it was rushed before submission to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    According to him, the problems associated with the document would however be sorted out to enable the budget to be signed into law.

    He said: “We are working on the budget daily. We are working on it collectively for the first time.

    “The Executive and the Legislature are looking at the budget collectively. This is the first time we will be doing it this way.

    “The matter is not about a date. If we can finish it today, we will hand it over for signature tomorrow.

    “In those days, we just pass budgets that are normally not implemented. This is the first time we are doing a budget that the President is looking forward to implement.

    “This budget was done in a rush and you know there are some issues that are cropping up. It is no longer going to be business as usual.

    “So, those unusual things, if detected, we will work on them. It is not as if we are holding on to the budget. We are working collectively,” he added.

    His consultation with the President, he said, was necessary because there were other bills pending before the National Assembly which requires such consultations.

    He said: “There are issues that are really on ground. One is the budget. We also have two bills before the Senate that we need to start working on when we resume tomorrow. The Money Laundering Bill and the Criminal Information Sharing Bill

    “There are issues other than those ones that are really on ground. This is how we are supposed to be doing it earlier. That is, coming into the Villa to consult and guide the proceedings in the Senate appropriately.

    “Other than that, I don’t want you to see it as an unusual visit. I will be doing this often because this is how it is supposed to be.

    “Again, I normally consult with the President on a personal basis long before he became the President, so it is not unusual. ” he stated

    He disagreed with the suggestions that he was at the Villa to intercede on behalf of Senate President, Bukola Saraki over his ongoing prosecution at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

    He said: “I am not the Senate President. The question should be directed to the Senate President.

    “You are asking me what I do not know. I consult and if I have to mediate on anything, there should be a problem. I do not know of any problem,” he said.

  • Saraki disappointed over Supreme Court ruling

    Saraki disappointed over Supreme Court ruling

    The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki has expressed disappointment at the ruling by the Supreme Court dismissing his appeal against his trial by the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

    A statement issued on Friday by his Media Adviser, Yusuph Olaniyonu, noted that the Senate President was alarmed that the apex court dismissed the six grounds on which he filed the appeal.

    The statement reads: “The Senate President however will like to put it on record that the facts of the substantial matter are not before the Supreme Court since the apex court was only invited to rule on some preliminary issues in the process of commencing the trial.

    “The Senate President believes he will have his day in the court to prove his innocence of the charges preferred against him during the trial proper.

    “Dr. Saraki will like to thank everyone who has expressed support for him from the beginning of the case. He assures everyone that at the end of the day truth will prevail and justice will be served.”

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  • Supreme Court okays Saraki’s trial at CCT

    Supreme Court okays Saraki’s trial at CCT

    The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal filed by the  Senate President Bukola Saraki to stop his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT)  for lack of merit.

    The  6-man panel of judges  led by Justice Walter ruled that the CCT was properly constituted to exercise jurisdiction over the Senate President’s trial.

  • CCT: Saraki knows fate today

    CCT: Saraki knows fate today

    [dropcap]C[/dropcap]an the chairman and  a member of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) conduct proceedings where the Constitution says it must be constituted by two members and a chairman?

    Was the CCT wrong to have assumed jurisdiction over the trial of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, charged with false asset declaration, without one of its members?

    These are some of the issues to be decided today by the Supreme Court as it delivers judgment in the appeal brought before it by Saraki.

    Saraki appealed the October 30, 2015, judgment of the Court of Apeal, Abuja, which dismissed his appeal challenging the jurisdiction of the CCT to try him for alleged false declaration of assets.

    Saraki was arraigned before the CCT on September 22, last year on a 13-count after initial resistance, prompting the tribunal to issue a bench warrant for his arrest.

    Although he pleaded not guilty to the charge, he not only challenged the power of the CCT to try him, but the composition of the tribunal and the legality of the charge, which he said was not endorsed by the attorney general of the federation (AGF).

    In its October 30 judgment, a three-man panel of the appellate court, in a split decision of two-to-one held that Saraki’s appeal lacked merit.

    Justices Moore Adumein and Mohammed Mustapha resolved the six issues in favour of the respondents, including the CCT, while Justice Joseph Ekanem dissented on one issue, which was whether an official of the Federal Ministry of Justice was competent to endorse a charge in the absence of the AGF.

     While Justices Adumein (who read the lead judgment) and Mustapha dismissed the appeal, Justice Ekanem upheld the appeal, discharged and quashed the Senate president’s trial before the CCT.

    Justice Adumein rejected Saraki’s arguments, including his contention that the CCT, being an inferior body to the Federal High Court, ought not to have proceeded with his trial despite an order by the court.

    He held that Saraki’s complaint about not being personally served with the charge “was of no consequence having appeared and taken his plea before the tribunal.”

    On whether two of the CCT’s three members formed a quorum, Justice Adumein, noted a “lacuna”  in the law,  but held that the Interpretation Act provided that a member of the tribunal and its chairman could sit and conduct proceedings.

    Justice Adumein upheld the argument by the respondents’ lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN),  that by Section 28 of the Interpretation Act, two members of the tribunal (including the chairman) form a quorum to validly conduct its proceedings

    He also held that by Section 174(1) and (2) of the Constitution, where there is no substantive AGF, any law officer in the Office of the AGF could validly file charges.

    On the tribunal not being a court, Justice Adumein held that “there is no inherent difference between the tribunal and the court.”

  • Saraki speaks on Success of 2016 Budget

    Saraki speaks on Success of 2016 Budget

    The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday said if the 2016 Budget is going to be realistic and successful, emphasis should be on the non oil and independent revenue generating sources.

    The Senate President said this while answering questions from Senate Correspondents after commissioning the newly upgraded and refurbished Senate Press Centre at the National Assembly in Abuja.

    Saraki said that the eighth Senate will focus attention on the revenue generating areas and to ensure that all leakages are blocked.

    Speaking in a statement signed by Sanni Onogu, Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Saraki stated that though the 2016 budget proposal is ambitious but it can be achieved if all that is necessary to make it work is put in place.

    When asked if the 2016 budget is implementable in view of the dwindling price of crude oil at the international market, Saraki said: “I think this is one of the reasons why we are having the MDAs defend their proposals before the Committees to be able to test some of the scenarios and some of the assumptions, particularly on the revenue side. if you look at the revenue, out of about N3.8trillion, N3trillion is coming from non-oil and independent revenue.

    “The success of the budget, in my own view is less on the benchmark. It is more on those two items – non-oil revenue and independent revenue – and that is why we directed our Committee on Finance and other relevant Committees to really scrutinize the revenue side.

    “Even the Senate leadership intends to also engage with the ministries as well to really check those two lines, because that is really where the questions come on whether it is achievable. Before we put our signature to it, we need to be sure that those funds are there.

    “I believe they are ambitious but it is a good sign, because it begins to make us less dependent on oil. Because if N830billion is coming from oil revenue and it is only 23%.

    So, even if the price of oil goes down or up, we are not really so much vulnerable than that of the time oil revenue was accounting for 70 of our revenue. From that point of view, I believe that once we can do that, it is achievable,” he said.

    The Senate President also advised the executive to put a proper plan in place for implementing the budget now that the National Assembly is working to pass it in record time.

    He said the National Assembly would soon amend the Public Procurement Act to facilitate quick implementation of the budget.

    “But also talking about being achievable or implementable, already, some of the things we are going to look at and which we are going to advise the executive on is that while we are working on the budget now, they too should also start making a plan on how to implement the budget because what tends to happen is that even after we have passed a budget, the administration or its bureaucracy sometimes makes the budget difficult to be realisable.

    “And two areas: one is looking at the procurement process and it is very likely that we will need to come out with an amendment bill as regards to certain areas of the procurement law. That is something that we are likely to come out with very soon. People are looking at that now to see again how we can assist the executive to see that the budget is implementable,” he said.

    On the need for transparency and openness in the National Assembly budget, Saraki said: “On the issue of National Assembly, I think I’ve kept on repeating this many times. If you remember, even during the time the leadership was constituted, one of the issues that came forward was that we will have an open and transparent Eight Senate and I still want to be held to that.

    “Also during this process, of course, National Assembly budget too will also be debated and by the time the final document is out, I can assure you that we are going to move away from the time of one line item for the National Assembly to a National Assembly where there will be a break down according to different sections of the institution.”

    While commenting on the remodeled and refurbished Senate Press Centre, Saraki said the 8th Senate is poised to leave a good legacy behind in all aspects of the National Assembly.

    He said: “It (upgraded Senate Press Centre) signifies a commitment that we all see that in the Eight Senate, we will ensure that every aspect, we are poised to do things differently. We will try and improve on what we met and I hope by the time we finish our tenure, we would have left the Senate better than we met it.”

    Earlier, Chairman Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi said the Press Centre was refurbished to create a befitting working environment for journalists reporting the activities of the Senate.

    Abdullahi said: “What we have done here with your magnanimous support, we have turned this place around so that when we come here to speak to Nigerians about the Senate, let Nigerians see that the environment we are doing it is befitting of that institution.”

    In his response, Vice Chairman of the Senate Press Corps, Shagari Sumbo thanked the leadership of the Senate for improving on the Senate Press Centre and making it more conducive for the Correspondents to carry out their assignments.

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  • Senate adopts 2016 revised budget

    Senate adopts 2016 revised budget

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    The Senate on Tuesday adopted the revised version of the 2016 budget estimates.

    The adoption of the corrected version of the budget followed a letter by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on the revised budget proposals.

    Saraki read the Presidential letter in plenary on Tuesday.

    The letter personally signed by Buhari was dated January 15, 2016 and entitled: “2016 budget proposals.”

    President Buhari asked the Senate to work with the corrected version of the budget estimates

    Some Senators, however, spotted a fundamental error on the date of presentation of the Appropriation Bill quoted in the Presidential memo.

    The Senators said the memo stated that the budget was presented to a joint sitting of the National Assembly on Tuesday, December 22, 2016 instead of Tuesday, December 22, 2015.

    The memo reads in part, “It would be recalled that on Tuesday 22nd December, “2016” (2015) I presented my 2016 budget proposals to the joint sitting of the National Assembly.

    “I submitted a draft bill accompanied by schedule of details.

    “At the time of submission we indicated that because the details had just been produced we would have had to check to ensure that there were no errors in the detailed breakdown contained in the schedule.

    “That has since been completed and I understand that the corrections have been submitted.

    “The National Assembly will therefore have the details as submitted on the 22nd and a copy containing the corrections submitted last week.

    “It appears that this had led to some confusion. In this regard, please find attached a corrected version.

    “This is the version the National Assembly should work with as my 2016 budget estimates.

    “The draft bill remains the same and there are no changes in any of the figures.”

    Details of the corrections made on the fiscal document were not disclosed.

    After reading the letter, Senate Leader, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, moved for the adoption of the letter so that the communication would formally become a document of the Senate.

    Ndume also moved that with the adoption of the communication, the Senate should consider the budget as amended.

    The two motions were endorsed by the Senate.

     

  • Presidency submitted fake 2016 budget – Senate panel

    Presidency submitted fake 2016 budget – Senate panel

    The drama trailing the 2016 budget in the Senate continued Thursday with stunning assertions by the Senate leadership.

    The troubling revelations came after over two hour closed session where the lawmakers were said to have “thoroughly discussed and taken far reaching decisions on the budget.

    After the closed session, Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, announced that the secret meeting centered on the controversy surrounding the 2016 Appropriation Bill.

    He also recalled that they mandated the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to investigate the matter in order for the Senate to take an informed position.

    Saraki then dropped the bombshell.

    He said that the Senate discovered from the findings of its Ethics committee that the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matter, Senator Ita Enang, printed and submitted to the Senate a different version of the 2016 budget.

    He said that what Enang submitted to the Senate was against the original copy of the Appropriation Bill presented by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 22, 2015.

    Saraki did not stop there.

    He said that the Senate resolved not to work with a version of the Appropriation Bill not laid before the National Assembly.

    He added that the Senate also resolved to consider only the version of Bill presented by President Buhari as soon as they receive soft copy of the original document from the Executive.

    He said, “We have received the report of the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions on investigations surrounding 2016 Appropriation Bill.

    “Our finding is that Senator Ita Enang, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matter (SSA) printed copies of the 2016 Appropriation Bill and brought to the Senate.

    “We have discovered that what he brought is different from the version presented by Mr. President.

    “We have resolved to consider only the version presented by Mr. President as soon as we receive soft copy of the original document from the Executive.”

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi also addressed reporters immediately after Senate plenary to throw more light on the claim of a fake budget.

    Abdullahi spoke in company with the Vice Chairman of his committee, Senator Ben Murray – Bruce.

    He said, “We are here to update you on an issue that has been awash in the media. We are here in continuation of what we have said earlier that the report about a missing budget is not true.

    “We don’t have a budget that is missing and we still maintain that we don’t have a budget that is missing.

    “But you recall that the Senate President did inform Nigerians that there is issue that a committee was asked to investigate.

    “The report of the investigation by the committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition has been submitted in the Executive session because it was a decision we took in the last Executive session on Tuesday.

    “Now our findings are this, that Mr. President did lay the budget in the Joint session of the National Assembly.

    “Thereafter, the Senate went on recess and upon resumption copies of the document were produced by Senator Ita Enang, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters for Senate and copies were submitted to both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    “What we found out is that the document submitted by Senator Ita Enang upon our resumption has some differences and discrepancies with what was originally laid by Mr. President in the joint sitting of the National Assembly.

    “However, the Senate in defence in its integrity and honour will not work with what has not been laid in the National Assembly.

    “We are constitutionally mandated and duty bound to consider only that budget that has been so laid by Mr. President.

    “Right now, for reproduction, we are awaiting the soft copy of the originally submitted budget so that the National Assembly can reproduce copies of the budget itself.

    “Because if we reproduce ourselves, then we have confidence in the fact that what we reproduced is what was originally submitted to us.

    “The institution of the Senate will not and cannot do anything that is illegal. We will not do anything that will not promote the unity, integrity and welfare of Nigerians.

    “Some people were saddled with the responsibility to find out what happened.”

    Abdullahi reiterated that “the budget submitted by the President is not missing, “we already have copies of it but what we are saying is that for us to reproduce for our members, it is easier, based on the quantum of document that has to be produced, that we get the soft copy of that original version so that we can reproduce it.”

    He insisted that “by next week, we want to go down to business, Senators have picked dates to speak during the three days set aside for debate of the 2016 budget.”

    Abdullahi also said that the Senate leadership was mandated to speak with all those concerned with the document saying “that was why the Senate President was in touch with Mr. President.”

    The Senate spokesperson however refused to speak on the claim by the House of Representatives that it had its own original version of the fiscal document.

    He also declined to say what amounted to the differences spotted in the version of the budget submitted by Enang and the original version presented by President Buhari.

    “I am not in the position to say the differences between the document submitted by the President and the one brought by Ita Enang. The committee that investigated the issue did not include that in their report,” he claimed.

    Abdullahi said that as at the time the Senate President promised to make copies of the budget available to Senators Thursday, “he was working on the assumption that what were brought by the executive were copies of the original copies submitted by Mr. President.”

    He noted that “but based on the outcry, it was discovered that there are another version different from what the President gave us.”

    The man at the centre of the controversy, Senator Ita Enang, refused to respond to what the Senate President said.

    Enang told anxious reporters who crowded his office that he does not want to join issue with the Senate.

     

  • Senate confirms 2016 budget missing

    Senate confirms 2016 budget missing

    The controversy over whether or not the hard copy of the 2016 budget proposal is missing has been cleared.

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, Wednesday confirmed that the upper chamber has empanelled a high powered Senate search team to fish out the missing fiscal document.

    The cat of the missing document was let out of the bag by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, (Abia South) who came under Senate Standing Order 42.

    Order 42 deals with Matter of urgent national importance which the Senate is bound to consider if the Senate President allows it.

    Abaribe told the Senate that the grievous issue of the “missing and disappearance of the 2016 budget proposal” was widely reported in the media Tuesday.

    He added that most of them had been inundated with questions by their constituents about the whereabouts of the budget proposal.

    Abaribe said that their constituents who genuinely believed and saw the budget as the life wire of the country wanted to know how and why the budget got missing.

    He said that the Senate should not sweep the matter under the carpet in the interest of not only their constituents but the country in general.

    He recalled that the matter of the missing document also came up during their closed session on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 without satisfactory explanation on the whereabouts of the document.

    Abaribe who prayed the Senate to debate the matter so as to tell Nigerians the truth about the disappearance of the fiscal document said that it was also not in the interest of the Senate not to look into the matter.

    He insisted that “the matter is definite and urgent” and should therefore be considered.

    Abaribe said, “The matter that I refer to is what is in every newspaper today, everywhere in all the talk-shows in the radio of a missing budget and therefore Mr President, I want to bring to your attention and the attention of all my colleagues that yesterday in our closed session, this matter also came up.

    “Some of us who are worried, who have been inundated by messages from our constituents who are really worried about what their fate in the 2016, and are asking us, where is our budget.

    “That is why Mr President I think it is definite and it is urgent that we look into this matter.”

    Saraki agreed and said that a team of Senator had already been constituted to look into the matter.

    The Senate President added that Senators should be patient and await the findings of the search team after which the Senate would go into a closed session to discuss the matter.

    He also confirmed that the issue came up during the Senate closed session on Tuesday.

    He said that though Abaribe did not discuss the subject of his Point of Order with him as required by the Senate Rule, he would allow an exception in order to look into the issue.

    Saraki said, “Because of the importance of this (disappearance of the budget) I will allow an exception.

    “You know we are all part of the decision at the close session yesterday and as part of that decision we are still waiting for those we have referred to carry out the assignment to come back to us.

    “I think they will come back to us by tomorrow (today) and we will go into a close session and finish up the report and we will be able to debate it properly.”

    There was an attempt to cover up the issue when Senate President earlier announced that the Senate would commence debate of the general principles of the 2016 budget proposal on Tuesday, January  19  through 21st.

    Saraki also said copies of the budget proposal would be made available to lawmakers on today (Thursday) to enable them go through before the debate.

    He asked lawmakers who intended to make contribution to the debate to indicate interest before the consideration of the debate would commence.

    There was no mention the reported disappearance of the budget proposal until Abaribe blew the lid open to confirm what some Senators had dismissed as speculation on Tuesday.

    Some Senators spoken to spoke wondered “whether anybody can circulate or distribute what you don’t have.”

    A source noted that “As at today, nobody has given or told us in clear terms the sectoral allocations contained in the budget proposal.”

    The Senator said that “it was wrong for the Senate, the highest law making body of the federation to behave as if all is well when it is obvious that something is amiss.”

    He noted that “if the budget was withdrawn, it could have been appropriate and reasonable for those involved in the whole affair to say so.”

    He added, “To smuggle out a budget that was presented to a joint session of the National Assembly under suspicious circumstances is unacceptable to most of us.”

    On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari and Saraki met briefly in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    It was not clear what they discussed in the closed door meeting.

    Saraki was reported to have declined comment when confronted with questions on the missing budget.

  • Saraki vows to continue probe of alleged TSA fraud

    Saraki vows to continue probe of alleged TSA fraud

    The President of the Senate, Sen. Bukola Saraki, has said that no amount of intimidation will stop the assembly from investigating the alleged N25 billion Treasury Single Account (TSA) fraud.

    Saraki was reacting to a motion moved by Sen. Dino Melaye (APC-Kogi West) on Tuesday over a newspaper article allegedly blackmailing the Senate for pointing out the alleged fraud.

    He said the assembly would not relent in carrying out its constitutional duties, including pointing out any action that would be detrimental to Nigerians.

    “No amount of either blackmail or intimidation will stop us from doing the work we have to do.

    “We have a responsibility here to ensure that there are no leakages in government funds and if there are, we will call the attention of the public and do whatever it takes to salvage the situation; it is our responsibility.

    “ The fact about the TSA will come out and everybody will have opportunity before the committee to state the fact, the facts will speak for themselves,’’ he said.

    Saraki said the assembly would expedite action on the inauguration of Standing Committees to enable it to begin its oversight function fully.

    Earlier, Melaye said his attention was drawn to the write-up accusing the Senate of working against President Muhammadu Buhari’s effort to implement TSA.

    He expressed concern that the writer could conceive such an idea in spite of the National Assembly’s resolve to work with Buhari in fighting corruption.

    Melaye recalled that it was the assembly’s stand on the alleged TSA fraud that led SystemSpecs to refund the one per cent it collected from mopped up funds to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    “The writer said we are against the change agenda of Mr President because we raised the abnormality going on with the implementation of the TSA.

    “We did not at any time in this Hallowed Chamber implicate President Muhammadu Buhari of being involved in TSA fraud.

    “ We will not stop carrying out our legislative duties for fear of being blackmailed.

    “The motion moved last week had two prayers.

    “The first thing we did was to thank Mr President and commend him for the implementation of the TSA and for anyone to say the Senate is fighting Mr. President is myopic, parochial and unacceptable.

    “I have a letter here that I am going to lay with this paper, written by the Director, Banking and Payment of CBN to the Managing Director of SystemSpecs.

    “The CBN categorically stated that they should remit the one per cent that they collected.

    “I also have a letter here by the managing director of that company to the Accountant General of the Federation and the Governor of CBN that have completely buttressed and elicited our decision last week.

    “ So for people to blackmail us as irresponsible, it is not acceptable to me and the Senate.

    “Never would we allow blackmail and political and economic bigots to destroy the people. We are for the people and we will stand in defence of public interest,’’ he said.

    The write-up and letters cited by Melaye were referred to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition to be returned to Senate in one week.

    The Senate had on November 11 raised alarm over alleged payment of N25 billion to one e-collection firm, REMITA, in one day as one per cent of monies transferred to TSA.

    It also directed its Committee on Finance, Banking and other Financial Institutions and Public Accounts to carry out a holistic investigation into the matter and report back in two weeks.

  • Ekweremadu can’t preside over us, APC Senators insist

    Ekweremadu can’t preside over us, APC Senators insist

    All Progressives Congress (APC) Senators Wednesday threatened to stay away from the Senate chamber at any session presided over by Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.

    Ekweremadu, a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Senator, emerged Deputy Senate President in a Senate Chamber with APC as the majority party.

    The Enugu West Senatorial representative for the first time since his controversial election on June 9th, 2015, presided over Senate session Wednesday due to the absence of the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki.

    Saraki, it was said, went to the Presidential Villa, Abuja for the inauguration of ministers by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    During the Senate session, some APC Senators led by Senators Ahmed Lawan and George Akume stormed out of the chamber immediately they noticed that Ekweremadu was to preside.

    It was not clear initially why Lawan and Akume walked out of the chamber but a statement by the Secretary of the Senate Unity Forum, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi (Kaduna North) threw some light on the development.

    Lawan and Akume are leading members of the Senate Unity Forum, a group that supported Lawan to gun for the Senate Presidency.

    Senator Hunkuyi’s statement is entitled “As Mr. President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurates the new Federal Executive Council of the change agenda, PDP takes over the hallowed chamber of the Senate.”

    It read in part, “We notice with joy the inauguration of the FEC by President, Commander-in-Chief, Muhammadu Buhari of the Federal Executive Council today the 10th of November 2015.

    “Finally, the change agenda has cleared the coast to stand up the integrated development of the APC formed government.

    “In equal stance, we noticed with grave sadness the handover of the hallowed chamber of the Senate today to the opposition party, the PDP, by the Senate President to Ike Ekweremadu as the PDP helmsman to preside over the majority membership of the APC led chamber.

    “It is a very sad development that must be denounced by all well meaning APC members and leaders alike.

    “With this, to show our protest, as APC Senators of the 8th Senate wish to announce that we shall cease to attend any sitting presided over by the PDP in an APC majority chamber of the 8th Senate.”

    Hunkuyi told some reporters after the walk out that he does not recognize Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President.

    He added that he was not prepared to sit in a chamber presided over by Ekweremadu.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi also APC Senator countered what Hunkuyi said.

    Abdullahi in a statement said that the attention of the Senate had been drawn to a release captioned “The conspiracy against the APC finally consummated.”

    He dismissed that there was any conspiracy of any nature among Senators.

    Abdullahi said that “The consummation of a conspiracy is the figment of the imagination of those behind the news release and should be disregarded by Nigerians.”

    He said, “The Senate wish to reiterate its total commitment to providing robust legislative actions to support the change agenda of Mr. President as he strives to move Nigeria to new height.

    “The bi-partisan stand of the Senate has not and will not be an impediment in any way.

    “The Distinguished Senators are happy with the inauguration of the Federal Executive Council and looks forward to having harmonious, rancor-free but inclusive and participatory relationship that has at its heart the welfare of Nigerians.

    “Finally, as we await the unveiling of the policy directions of Mr. President through the members of his executive, the Senate is indeed poised to work harder and better to support the emergence of a changed Nigeria of our collective dream.”

    Abdullahi said that it became necessary for him to clarify the situation because “the spurious statement by some people has come to our notice.”

    He noted that Senators of APC and PDP were in total agreement that the country has to change.

    Abdullahi said that APC and PDP members including their family members go to the same market and use the same road.

    “We will not allow anything to come between us and the challenges in Nigeria because Nigerians are waiting for us,” he said.

    On the adjournment of the Senate till next Tuesday, he was to honour the dead clerk of the Senate, Mr. Adedotun Durojaiye.