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Tag: Senate

  • FACE -OFF: What does the Senate want?

    FACE -OFF: What does the Senate want?

    Following renewed hostilities between the Senate and the Presidency, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu and Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, take a close look at the prolonged face-off and report that the seemingly unending wrangling may be rooted in a deep power game over Nigeria’s presidential seat

    The story of the relationship between the Executive and the Senate, since 2015 is one of a power game deeply rooted in what insiders may describe as both personal and group aspirations. Traced to the intrigues of the first few hours of the current administration, after the ruling party won the presidential and National Assembly elections and was in the delicate business of sharing power and plum offices, the face-off between the leadership of the current Executive and the National Assembly has refused to go.

    It peaked this week’s Tuesday when Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Abia South Senatorial District, raised a motion alleging that there was a vacuum in Aso Rock and that the country had no President or Acting President at the moment, since, according to him, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo were both out of the country.

    Given the weight of the statement, there was tension as the motion was greeted with a counter point, coming through order 53 rule 4 of the Senate standing rules, by Senator Kabiru Marafa (Zamfara Central).

    Marafa, citing some relevant sections of the Nigerian Constitution, said “if the President is not around, the Vice President should act, and if the Vice President is not around, the Senate President, who is the number three citizen should become the Acting President.”

    Although the Senate President, Bukola, did not allow any seconder or more comments, as he quickly ruled Senator Marafa “out of order,” close observers of the intrigues have expressed deep worry.

    Some have said there seems to be something more than meets the eye in the development. Describing the mild drama as a near coup, they wondered if the motion was discussed behind the scene before then and the senator simply flew a kite or if Senator Abaribe was just amusing himself?

    A source close to the Presidency, while responding to the development however said “the Senate, in that Tuesday drama, betrayed its dismaying weakness. It does not operate with up-to-date information as Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has already returned from his trip as at the time of the motion.”

    The beginning

    The emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki of All Progressives Congress (APC) as the President of the Senate on Tuesday, June 9, 2015, was one that his party leadership never imagined as they had picked fellow party member, Senator Ahmed Lawan, as the party’s choice. But on the day of the crucial election at the Red Chamber, Saraki allegedly maneuvered his way to emerge the Senate President after an election that held when most of the APC senators were away in a special meeting held at ICC, Abuja. To worsen the matter, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the leading opposition party, produced the Deputy Senate President in the person of Senator Ike Ekweremadu. Alleging that Ekweremadu is a close ally of Saraki, APC leadership accused the Senate President of entering into an unholy alliance with the leading opposition to weaken the ruling party, a sin some say they seemed not willing to ever forgive.

    But Saraki, who has been relating very well with the Ekweremadu-led PDP senators, denied entering any untoward alliance with PDP and blamed his fellow APC senators, who were un-strategically absent at that critical moment, for what happened during the election.

    As he explained in an interview then, “anybody who said he spoke to me to go to the ICC was not being truthful because I didn’t even know what was going on. All I was monitoring was how people were arriving the complex.

    “It was just before 10:00 that I got information that the Clerk to the National Assembly had entered the chamber. So, I got out of the small car I was inside, stretched myself and put on my Babariga because I didn’t have it on before then.

    “I walked from the car park into the chamber. That was why some of you would have seen that I looked very tired that morning.

    “Even when I was in the chamber, I didn’t know what had transpired earlier. The only thing I observed was that it appeared that some of our senators were not in the chamber, but because of the fact that my colleagues arrived in batches, I had the opinion that they were on the way and, by 10:00am, the programme started.

    “Before I knew it, my election had come and gone. Even my people were worried; it was only when I got into the chamber that they were relieved.”

    So, since the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly and the election of the leadership of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, where Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara emerged Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively against the position of their party, the face-off between the National Assembly and the Executive have remained unresolved.

    The matter escalated that same month when Saraki and Dogara also refused to listen to the advise of the party leadership on who should occupy the party leadership positions in both chambers.

    Saraki-led Senate in particular dumped the list of candidates for Senate Majority Leader, Deputy Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip and successfully elected different candidates for the positions in defiance of the party.

    As would be expected, APC leadership, which had advised Saraki to ensure Senator Lawan was compensated with the Senate Leader position, again cried blue murder, and according to some sources, allegedly resolved to remove Saraki from that plum seat.

    Responding however, Saraki explained that he allowed what happened because, as he reportedly puts it, ‘My hands were tied.’

    In a letter dated Thursday, June 25, 2015, addressed to the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), John Oyegun, the Senate President had explained that the APC’s letter on who to nominate came after the zonal caucuses had chosen their candidates in line with parliamentary convention. He further said he would have liked to please the party but that his hands were tied.

    Since then, the rivalry and the power game have been intense. The executive, through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) flexed its muscle when it dragged the Senate President to the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) over alleged wrong declaration of assets. By October of 2015, the serving Senate President was actually docked at the CCT.

    The Magu factor

    Perhaps in response to the CCT’s humbling trials, there has been running battle between the Saraki-led Senate and the Presidency as the Senate repeatedly rejected the candidature of Malam Ibrahim Magu as EFCC’s substantive Chairman. This, according to some sources, have been a major source of contention as the Ibrahim Buhari-led Presidency has so much belief that Magu is the right candidate to lead EFCC and the anti-corruption crusade.

    A source in Abuja, explaining the face-off and how Magu is at the centre of it all said: It is clear that Senate’s threat not to entertain further confirmation requests from Presidency is related to the lawmakers anger that the Presidency and Acting President Osinbajo has reiterated the executive’s resolve to stick to Magu. It is all a game of power. Remember that the Upper Chamber said before that it won’t confirm RECs. It went back on its words. Now, the question is, was there any intervention at that time? Osinbajo had made his statement on confirmation and Section 171 way back in April even when Buhari was in town. Why hold that against him now that he is the Acting President? Is the Senate up to some mischief? Do the Senators know something we don’t know about Buhari and is as such out to cut Osinbajo’s ascendancy in line with the constitution,” the source asked?

    The source also said the crucial point the presidency is making on its insistence on Magu is to let the world know why Senate does not want a man that would expose their dirty wall-robes. What is happening should not surprise Nigerians. There is no way Magu would get fair hearing from a Senate composed of close to 15 former governors, most of whom are under investigation or prosecution, including Saraki, the Senate President himself. The presidency has realised it ought not to have sent Magu’s name to that chamber in the first instance? Nigeria is a signatory to the UN Convention on Fair Hearing and Magu can’t get fair treatment in the Senate,” the source said, adding: Don’t forget the disagreement over the limit of Lawmakers’ power of appropriation. How can the lawmakers be the one to pass Appropriation Law and also be the one picking projects and even contractors for them at their whims? Senate at one point even told the Presidency to go to court if it wants.” The question on the lips of most observers is will it get to that and if it must, would it be the presidency or the Senate that will head to court?

    It is instructive that the Senate spokesman, Sabi Abdullahi, while reacting to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo’s declaration that Magu would remain in his position in acting capacity until the end of the administration, said the Senate would stand by the rule of law.

    He asserted that the Senate would not be engaged in any back and forth, having adopted a resolution on the matter.  “We have said what we needed to say on this matter.  We don’t want to be involved in any back and forth on this matter.

    “What we are saying is that let’s stick to the rule of law.  That is what the Senate is saying. And we are not saying anything more than that.  We are also saying that let us build institutions and not strengthen individuals because no individual is greater than the nation.

    “We are running a constitutional democracy and we must stick to the dictates of the law. What we are saying is, let’s stick to the rule of law.

    “We are saying no individual is greater than the country.  We have said what we have to say and we have issued our resolution”

    Final showdown

    Informed observers who spoke to The Nation yesterday said notwithstanding other intrigues, the final showdown of the face-off could be seen in Senate’s call for Osinbajo to sack Magu. It would be recalled that Osinbajo, through Governor el-Rufai, says Magu must stay. He said Magu will remain in place for as long as Buhari presidency is in place. Some observers alleged yesterday that El-Rufai was too eager to be the harbinger of that message as he is seeking new allies, having lost out with what they described as Aso Rock cabal.

    A senator, who spoke to us on what is happening at the Red Chamber on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that Magu is at the centre of the crisis, adding, “a number of Saraki’s loyalists, particularly some of the ex-governors, ex-deputy governors and former ministers among them, are working on the permutation that Buhari who has been battling with poor health since he assumed office two years ago, might not be fit to continue with the rigours of the exalted office beyond the current term. They are presuming that if Buhari declined to seek re-election on account of ill health and the ruling party keeps its plan of reserving the ticket for the North, Saraki might just become a choice candidate.”

    According to the lawmaker, “it is these loyalists of the Senate President that ostensibly tested the ground last week in the Senate chambers when they presented the so-called “power vacuum” scenario and alerted the nation of the possibility of a Saraki Presidency.”

    Implications of the development

    Given that the current vacuum motion and the notice not to entertain further confirmations from the executive came amidst the Magu face-off and President Buhari’s long absence, people are asking what could be the implications of the brimming showdown. An observer, a top official who pleaded not to be named, said it means: “There could be a lock down of business of government. It means Senate has told the nation it’s on strike. What will this do to the negative perception the Senate already has in the eyes of the people? Osinbajo seems more altruistic as he is not one that covets power or authority. He is just fighting for what is just and right. We should all be concerned over who will win this fight,” he said.

    It would be recalled that when CCT finally set Saraki free, many believed the face-off may have come to an end. Not to be for the executive soon resolved to appeal the judgement, a decision top government officials are alleging may have triggered off the fresh hostilities concretized by the current vacuum motion.

    With the renewed power struggle between the Senate and the Presidency, few months after the ceasefire, concerned observers are wondering what could be the real point of contention between the two arms of government.

    As it stands, the two arms have been blaming each other for the misunderstanding. Either unconsciously or deliberately, media reports and public opinion have weighed delicately against the Senate, even as newsmen daily celebrate reports of alleged financial misdemeanors allegedly involving distinguished members of the senate. So, most federal lawmakers at the Red Chamber, who have spoken on the face-off have expressed both anger and surprise over what they described as unfair decision of the public to condemn

    An insider source at the Senate told The Nation that Saraki’s supporters at the Red Chamber cuts across party lines. “Currently, the Senate President has firm grip of the Senate. His staunch members include some APC members, including South-West members, who pretend to be neutral in the afternoon but hobnobs with Saraki at night. They are firmly behind him and have been working on different fronts to actualise their common mission.

    What does the senate want?

    Speaking to The Nation at the weekend in Lagos, a source, a serving senator from the South-West insisted that it is out of place to tar the entire senate with one brush based on the activities of some members he described as undemocratic. He averred that the Senate President is leading a group of lawmakers to test the strength of the country’s fledgling democracy.

    “Sometimes I ask myself the same question, ‘what exactly is going on in the senate? It is unfortunate that in a senate where the ruling party enjoys the majority, the government is always being antagonized. And we have a Senate President who either looks the other way when this happens or tacitly encourages it.

    “Many of us considered to be too rigid in our commitment to the APC have been labeled and dealt with on many occasions. It is just that I am a contented person. Going to the senate for me was out of passion to serve and not to make money. So, I am able to withstand the pressure. You can see how many respected senators are today joining the band wagon of those lining up behind the impunity represented by the likes of Saraki and Melaiye.

    ‘Earlier this year, because I led a group of senators to caution APC members in the National Assembly against working against the interest of the party and the government, I was dropped from one ad-hoc committee considered to be juicy by some of us. I was not moved. I refused to bulge. But not many of our people can do that. That is why some people are being won over day by day. The latest is a respected senator from Osun State in whom I used to have so much confidence. Today, he is part of those scheming and machinating,’ he said.

    Explaining further, the Senator said there is suspicion even within the National Assembly that some lawmakers may be plotting against the Presidency. He said there are indications that the leadership of the Senate is being used to ferment trouble for the current administration. He cited the unending face-off between the National Assembly and the Presidency, which he described as avoidable.

    “For examples, within the Senate today, there are those of us who strongly believe the leadership is being manipulated to cause confusion in the current administration. There is this very strong mutual suspicion among senators, even within the APC caucus. We don’t trust ourselves any longer. Even the so called Unity Forum group has been infiltrated and suspicion reigns.

    “Recently, there was this rumour that some senators, ranking APC senators for that matter, were attending some nocturnal meetings with the opposition. It got so bad that it was raised at a caucus meeting. No reasonable explanation has been offered up till today and people want me to believe they are not up to something.”

    “Now, we have a situation where an APC led senate is threatening to impeach an APC led presidency. It is shameful but Nigerians should not take it as a joke. Like I told one PDP senator in Abuja  yesterday, this may be the manifestation of the many secret meetings we have been hearing of. If all we have seen or heard are anything to go by, some people are up to something.

    “My worst fear is that the collaborators in the senate, who are in both PDP and APC, may also enjoy some form of support from some quarters within the presidency and the ruling party. I say this because of some things we are hearing. I am displeased to read a serving minister saying the acting President didn’t speak for the presidency. I am yet to hear the ruling party openly condemn the condemnable acts of some of our members,” he added.

    Besides the power game over 2019 or Buhari’s succession, the battle over who has the power to confirm government officials presented by the executive, including officials like Magu of EFCC and Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd), respondents told The Nation that another issue of contention between the Presidency and the Senate is the power of the purse. Our source said “As a lawmaker, I cannot deny that we cannot accept a situation where the executive tries to frustrate or stop lawmakers from doing their legitimate and fundamental duties like Appropriation. All these noise about padding is simply politics. Providing for lawmakers constituency projects is legitimate and any attempt by the executive to portray lawmakers as criminals because of such legitimate action is laughable,” he said.

    The source told The Nation yesterday that the senators are particular about this issue because it is through this power of Appropriation that they provide for their constituency projects. He alleged that following the perceived rivalry between the two arms, the executive has not been providing enough for lawmakers’ constituency projects in the Appropriation Bills and so, the lawmakers have to do the needful.

    The battle line has already been drawn. Nigerians are concerned that open hostility between these two arms of government will disrupt governance. Who will save the country?

  • No going back on Magu’s rejection – Senate

    No going back on Magu’s rejection – Senate

    The Senate insisted on Friday that it would not go back on the decision to reject Ibrahim Magu as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The Chairman of Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Aliyu Sabi Abdullah, declared that rejection of Magu by the upper legislative chamber “still stands.”

    The Senate spokesperson was reacting to Thursday declaration by the Presidency that Magu will remain the EFCC boss irrespective of Senate’s demand for his sack.

    The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, who made the declaration, said “Magu would remain EFCC chairman as long as he is the acting President and as long as Muhammadu Buhari remains President.”

    He spoke through Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, at the inauguration of the EFCC zonal office in Kaduna.

    Osinbajo said President Buhari resolved to work with Magu to prosecute his administration’s anti-graft war.

    Abdullah, in his Friday’s reaction, said, “Senate has already made its resolution, and our resolutions are official statements. And most times, based on how we communicate. We don’t go to press immediately because somebody has made a statement. We usually discuss issues. You know before we made that resolution the issue was debated. It is not because the executive has said something, we will react to it. We discuss issues first.

    “He was brought to us for confirmation, and on the basis of damning reports from the DSS, we rejected him twice. It is left for Nigerians to see and we have done our part.”

    “We are expressing the opinion of the Senate, its stand and its position. We have given it a resolution. For now that is what subsists, and until we get a response, otherwise officially, we are not going back.”

     

     

  • Supreme Court should resolve executive/Senate face-off

    SIR: It is apposite to view the Senate’s insistence that the acting President recant his legal opinion on heads of agency appointments as patently puerile.

    The eighth Senate has been in a combat mode since it was prorogued with most of its agenda driven by reactionary leadership.

    Asking the executive arm to head to Supreme Court is not only reflective of lack of any sense of urgency in the red chamber’s attitude to legislative business, it also cast a big slur on the patriotic credentials of members as it were.

    One would rather expect the senate to confirm all appointments tabled before it and isolate that of Ibrahim Magu pending the Supreme Court’s interpretation of section 171 of the constitution.

    To freeze every confirmation and thus deny critical agencies like INEC and others the much needed administrative stability is to allow some unruly elements in the Senate who are caught in the web of legal battles to destabilize the fledging democratic process.

    Since the executive has transmitted the instrument for confirmation to the legislature and the latter declined on issues of constitutional ambiguity, then the onus is on the Senate to seek the Supreme Court’s interpretation and not to put governance in limbo.

    One must also add that the matter when eventually brought to the Supreme Court should be given accelerated attention as is being done in civilized climes.

    The recent Trump’s travel ban was expeditiously dispensed with by the U.S. Supreme Court because if allowed to hang, it could hurt other sundry national interests.

    It’s rather disconcerting that the anti-corruption bill before the eighth Senate remains pigeon-holed for lack of political will to do the right thing.

    It is even shameful that the leadership of the Senate could be so insular as to dismiss the anti-corruption war as ineffectual when it’s actually the one putting spanner in the wheel.

     

    • Bukola Ajisola,

    bukymany@yahoo.com

  • Melaye’s recall: INEC is wasting its time – Senate

    Melaye’s recall: INEC is wasting its time – Senate

    The Senate yesterday dared the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to go ahead with the recall of Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West), as demanded by his constituents.

    The electoral agency is embarking on an exercise in futility, the lawmakers said.

    The Senate said the various stages passed so far in the process were not in line with laid down constitutional procedures and guidelines, adding that it amounted to a waste of time by all the parties involved.

    This resolution followed a point of order raised against the move by Melaye.

    Melaye drew the attention of the Senate to what he described as “supersonic move” by INEC to conclude work on the recall petitions written against him by some of his constituents, who he alleged were sponsored by Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.

    Melaye said: “The score of both valid and invalid votes in the election that brought me into the Senate in 2015 was 118,000 but my governor and his appointees in four days claimed they got signatures of over 188,000.

    They got INEC data base of registered voters and copied in one writing into a recall register and forged all the signatures. As I speak to you, over 120 dead certificates issued by the National Population Commission and these people’s relations and families have sworn to affidavits and these certificates have been deposited.

    “The names of all these dead people appeared on the recall register submitted to INEC.

    “116 of my constituents have sworn to affidavits that their names and signatures appeared in the recall registers and that they did not sign.

    “86 of my constituents have sworn to an affidavit that they were approached and that the government wants to carry out a fertiliser empowerment programme and requested for their PVCs and thereby deceived them into putting their names in the recall register.”

    Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu cited Sections 68, 69 and other relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution to fault the move. He wondered why INEC is not following the laid down procedure in carrying out the exercise.

    Ekweremadu said: “I am wondering why we are dissipating energy on this matter and wasting precious legislative time on a matter we should not.

    “What is happening in Kogi in respect of Senator Dino Melaye, as far as this constitution is concerned, is an exercise in futility. They are just wasting precious time because the constitution is clear on what should happen.

    Saraki, Ekweremadu

    “It is possible that the Attorney- General of Kogi State has not advised them properly. If he had done that, I am sure they would have applied their time to more meaningful ventures in Kogi State.”

    Ekweremadu added that the National Assembly, in 2010, amended the constitution in respect of Section 69, which deals wit the recall of a lawmaker.

    According to him, the Section clearly states that those who are seeking to recall Melaye are supposed to line up somewhere in Kogi State with him and his lawyers, with each person verifying his signature.

    When they are done with that, they go back to Section 68, which states that the President of the Senate receives from the chairman of INEC the recall of the member. They would also present evidence satisfactory to the House or the Senate.

    “So they need to come back here and convince each and every one of us that they have done the correct thing. Unless they do that, they cannot even give effect to it. So why are we wasting our time? Let us move on and allow them to waste their time,” Ekweremadu said.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki said: “As they say, 10 years is no joke in leadership, the Deputy Senate President has explained the processes. So, let the process speak for itself.

    ”I really don’t know why a lot of efforts are being wasted that should have gone into more important things. Eventually, it must come back here for us to decide whether it is satisfactory or not.”

     

  • Senate to Fashola: Quit if the job is too much

    Senate to Fashola: Quit if the job is too much

    The Senate on Wednesday advised the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), to quit his position if he cannot cope with the volume of work in the ministry.

    The upper legislative chamber also accused the minister of misleading the public with his “controversial comments” on the 2017 budget

    The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Danjuma Goje, stated these during Wednesday’s plenary.

    He said: “Initially, I wanted to come under a motion but, yesterday (Tuesday), the House of Representatives took up the matter. Since we are on the same page with the House, I feel I should not come under a motion. But I will like to seize this opportunity to advise the minister that he should remember that he is now a minister and should behave like a minister.

    “He is not a governor (anymore) and this National Assembly is not Lagos State House of Assembly. This is an Assembly composed of very patriotic Nigerians, very experienced Nigerians; many had done his job; many were governors before him.”

    “Fashola should know that he is dealing with the National Assembly of Nigeria, not of Lagos. If the job is too much for him – the ministry is too big; it comprises three ministries, which are works, housing and power. If he cannot adjust, then, he should do the honourable thing. He should so the needful.

    “No amount of blackmail by him; no amount of propaganda by him or his surrogates will stop this National Assembly from discharging its duties in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. We have sworn to uphold and protect this Constitution, and this we will do to the end of this Assembly.

    “For now, I will cease fire and watch to see how the House will handle him. If he is well handled there, we will leave him with them. But if we are not satisfied and they pass him to us, then, we will take him over.”

     

  • Executive, Senate row’ll be resolved, says Presidency

    Executive, Senate row’ll be resolved, says Presidency

    The Presidency is sure that the rift between the executive and the legislative arms of the Federal Government will  soon be resolved.

    “We have an excellent mechanism for resolving issues between the executive and the legislature. That is being addressed.

    “Whatever will be the misunderstanding between executive and legislature, there is mechanism for resolving it. So we are resolving it,” Minister of Information Lai Mohammed told reporters yesterday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

    Senators drew the battle line on Tuesday when they insisted that the Presidency must remove Ibrahim Magu as acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) because they did not clear him.

    Failing to comply, the Senate said it would suspend confirmation of nominees for appointment.

    They also asked Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to withdraw a statement credited to him that the Senate lacked the powers to confirm certain categories of nominees.

    Asked whether the issue came up for discussion at the FEC meeting, Mohammed said: “Clearly, it came up.”

    He added: “I don’t think we need to go to specific statements as to what was said by A or B. We believe that government is not one arm, but both the legislative, executive and judiciary arms, whatever might be the problem, we are resolving it and we are addressing it.”

    Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, said: “The fundamental consideration about the alleged statement is the fact that at no point ever did the Federal Executive Council sit down to arrive at the decision in one way or the other as far as the issue of nomination or otherwise is concerned.

    “So I do not think it constitutes an issue for the Federal Executive Council to make any clarification

    about because it has never been considered by the FEC.”

    Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Malam Garba Shehu said:”Our understanding is that some remarks made by the Acting President some months ago when he was the Vice President, because the President was around at that time, an opinion he gave is being misconstrued.

    “A senior lawyer in the country offered an opinion in which he said some categories of public officers traditionally cleared by the National Assembly need not go through that process, that those ones can be appointed by presidential fiat; they don’t have to go through screening. But several months ago, in his position as Vice President, Professor Osinbajo gave a personal opinion, saying what this lawyer said makes sense,” he said.

    According to him, the government or its cabinet has not taken any decision on such an issue.

    “There is no official position by the government of Nigeria and the Federal Executive Council never sat down to take a decision, to say that some categories of officials will not be sent to the National Assembly any longer. The authority of the Senate under the constitution to screen and pass nominees has never been questioned by the government or the Federal Executive Council,” Shehu said.

    He noted that in compliance with the provisions of the law, the executive had been sending its nominees to the National Assembly for screening and it will continue to do so.

    All parties involved in the matter, he said, would soon meet to settle it.

    “From the time the Vice President gave that opinion to now, more than twenty nominations have been forwarded to the Senate and quite a number of them have been screened, sworn-in and are now occupying positions. So, this is not a big issue as some people want to make it.

    “The party, government and the National Assembly will sit on a round table and this matter will be discussed and resolved. I assure you,” Shehu said.

  • Senate draws battle line with Osinbajo over Magu

    Senate draws battle line with Osinbajo over Magu

    Senators won’t honour confirmation requests

    Sagay, Ngige, others kick

    As a society, we can’t pass laws and say these laws should not be obeyed. It is very clear these resolutions as passed must be acted upon by the Acting President —Saraki

    Senate should be ready to bear the consequences of bringing government to a halt, should it make good its threat to suspend confirmation of appointments…             —Sagay

    I think what the Senate resolved to do by going on strike, as it were, is undemocratic and tantamount to arm-twisting the executive.
    —Ngige

    what appeared to be the resumption of the face-off between the Executive and the Legislature took place in the Senate yesterday.

    The upper chamber resolved to ask Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to immediately implement its resolutions, including the removal of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Acting Chairman Ibrahim Magu.

    It drew a line in the sand,  resolving to suspend confirmation of nominees until issues relating to the power of the Senate to confirm executive nominees as contained in the constitution are resolved.

    The Senate insisted that its resolutions, especially the rejection of nominees, must be adhered to by the Acting President.

    Those, whose nominations were rejected, the lawmakers said, must be relieved of their duties.

    The lawmakers wondered why the EFCC Acting Chairman whose nomination was turned down was still being haboured by the Executive.

    The Senate also resolved to ask Osinbajo to withdraw a statement credited to him that the Senate lacked the powers to confirm nominees.

    The resolutions came after over one hour closed session where the lawmakers were said to have discussed the issues that formed the thrust of the decisions.

    The lawmakers warned of dire consequences should the resolutions be ignored by the Executive.

    The EFCC is investigating some senators for alleged corruption.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki had read a letter of request for the confirmation of the appointment of Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila as Director General, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, sent to the Senate by Osinbajo.

    Hardly had Saraki concluded reading the four-paragraph letter dated 12 June, 2017 when Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima moved a point of order that the Acting President’s position on confirmation of nominees should be discussed.

    Senator Yerima’s Point of Order opened a floodgate of attacks on the Executive as senators took turns to speak on the relationship between the two arms of government.

    Saraki, who summed up the contributions of apparently angry senators, alluded to this when he insisted that the resolutions must be complied with.

    Saraki said: “Distinguished colleagues, let me thank Senator Yerima for coming under Privileges. I think this matter is a very important matter but I think we need to address it once and for all and put it behind us.

    “Because as a society, we can’t pass laws and say these laws should not be obeyed. It is very clear these resolutions as passed must be acted upon by the Acting President.

    “And ensure that we continue to respect our democracy, our laws and constitution. It is not for us to choose which laws we obey and which laws we don’t obey.

    “That is not the way any civilised, modern society works. And we hope that the Acting President will take appropriate action in line with these resolutions.”

    Yerima (Zamfara West), who raised Order 14 of the Senate Standing Rules (Privileges), noted that since the Acting President concluded that the Senate lacked the power to confirm nominees, there was no need to acknowledge any letter from the executive on confirmation of appointments.

    He said: “I want to draw the attention of the Senate to a statement credited to the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo that the Senate does not have the power to confirm.

    “I was surprised to see the Senate President read a letter from the same Acting President, who said the Senate does not have the power to confirm a nominee from the executive.

    “I am raising this point of order to draw the attention of the Senate to this issue and urge that we suspend any further action on confirmation of any nominee until the issue is resolved.”

    Senator George Sekibo (Rivers East) asked the Senate to take a firm position and reject any attempts to weaken the National Assembly.

    Sekibo said: “A careful look at what is happening will tell Nigerians that they are trying to indirectly take over our responsibilities. The main function of the National Assembly is to make laws. The clearing of nominees from the President is one of the major functions of the Senate.

    “All the various laws made to establish agencies of the Federal Government state that we will confirm nominations into such bodies. When an Acting President says that the Senate has no powers to confirm, I wonder if he is familiar with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

    “In a civilian democracy, there is nothing like an executive order. You cannot wake up and issue executive orders. You cannot also wake up and tell nominees to take over office. This goes contrary to the provisions of the constitution.

    “The moment you are playing down on the constitution, then you are playing down on the integrity of the Nigerian people. If the Acting President said we do not have the powers to confirm and he is sending a name that we should confirm, then what do we do? Senate should place a suspension on nomination until we determine whether we have the powers to confirm or not.”

    Senator Isa Hamma Misau (Bauchi North) lamented what he described as “the hypocrisy of the executive”.

    Misau wondered why “the National Assembly should always be blackmailed by the executive to do their bidding”.

    He said: “This is a double standard or an act of hypocrisy. It is like they do not want this National Assembly to function properly. Sometimes, we associate corruption with only financial misappropriation. But there is also corruption in the area of appointments. When you appoint your friend into an office, it is corruption. We are here to serve the people.

    “The National Assembly is being blackmailed. They stormed the house of the Deputy President of the Senate and the house of the Appropriation committee chairman. They lied that it was the police that carried out the raid. But we know that it was the EFCC. It is time that we challenged the executive whenever they attack us.”

    Senator Samuel Anyanwu (Imo East) said: “We must situate this issue. I am surprised that we still accept nominations in this chamber. We agreed that we will not take nominations again from the executive until certain things are resolved. We must take a stand. The leadership does not do anything about this issue within 48 hours, we will move against the leadership.”

    Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) said the Executive was always playing  “blues and raggea.”

    Melaye, who is fighting for his political life because of the attempt by some of his constituents to recall him, said that the Senate should stand up to the Executive and its antics.

    He said: “There is a call on senators to serve Nigerians. It is time for us to tell the executive to stop playing blues and dance reggae. The executive must stop approbating and reprobating powers to itself.  In this same chamber, we invited the Acting EFCC chairman. We invited him for a job interview and he failed. We rejected him.

    “As I speak, Magu is still parading himself as EFCC chairman. Now, the same executive is sending a name for us to confirm. We confirmed Resident Electoral Commissioners before we went on break. They have sworn in some people and have refused to do same for others. This Senate leadership must act and take a position.

    “It is time for the Senate to apply force. I am moving a motion that it becomes abominable for the Senate President to read another confirmation letter until the integrity of this Senate is respected by the executive.”

    Senate Chief Whip Olusola Adeyeye (Osun Central) insisted that it was incumbent on the executive to obey the provisions of the constitution.

    Adeyeye warned against attempts by the executive to destroy the Senate and insisted that anybody who is uncomfortable with any law should go to court to challenge it.

    He said: “These are frightening times. This is because many Nigerians, including many of us here, put our lives on the line to ensure that we have democratic governance in Nigeria.

    “We need to remind the republic that the difference between the military and a democratic regime is the existence of the legislature.

    “Every public servant is bound to obey every law of the republic. Nobody, not the President, vice or the Senate President has the right to disobey our laws. Whoever has problems with our laws should go to court and declare them null and void. Until that is done, every law must be respected.

    “I voted yes for Magu. But the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria voted no. I stand with the Nigerian Senate. I choose a strong institution. We should not allow our institutions to be weakened. I want to lend the whole of my being to the first realm of the estate, which is the legislature. I pray that we assert the independence of the legislature and not as a sign of power mongering, but to show that this is not the government of strong individuals.”

    Deputy Senate President Senator Ike Ekweremadu said that the executive must obey the constitution.

    Ekweremadu who cited different sections of the constitution, said Section 171 relied upon by the Executive to retain Magu talked about personal staff of Mr. President.

    He noted that the issue under discussion had nothing to do with Magu or the DG National Lottery Commission but has a lot to do with what the Constitution said.

    Ekweremadu said: “Let me make it clear that this has nothing to do with the Director-General of Lottery Commission or Ibrahim Magu, but about our constitution. One of the features of the Senate is the power of confirmation. The framers of the constitution gave the power to the Senate.

    “If the law says that an appointee requires confirmation, we must obey what the law says. The executive must follow the provisions of the constitution.”

    Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) caused a stir when he spoke of a vaccum in the Presidency.

    Abaribe  drew the attention of the Senate to what he tagged a vacuum, following the two-day absence of the Acting President.

    Osinbajo travelled to Ethiopia on Sunday for an African Union (AU) meeting. He returned yesterday.

    Abaribe said: “The Acting President is the head of government now. We have a serious problem. As of today, there is nobody who is the head of government. The law and the procedure state that you cannot have a vacuum. The Acting President is out of the country and there is a vacuum.”

    Abaribe’s comment threw the chamber into confusion as some Senators agreed with him; others attempted to shout him down.

    He persisted until Senator Kabiru Marafa moved a Point of Order to stop him.

    For over 10 minutes, the Chamber was rowdy.  Senators lined up on political affiliation.

    Marafa, who relied on Order 53(4) of the Senate Standing Rules, said the issue Abaribe raised was not before the Senate. Marafa said the constitution made it clear that in the absence of the President, the Vice President takes over and in the absence of the Vice President, the Senate President is the next in command and the President.

    There was a loud roar in the chamber as some Senators shouted “you are correct”.

    Saraki ruled Abaribe out of Order.

    “The issue we are discussing has nothing to do with what Abaribe raised. We may have to discuss that at another day if need be. I have to rule you out of order Abaribe,” Saraki said.

    He called Melaye, who reeled out the resolutions adopted by the upper chamber.

    Media and Publicity Committee Chairman Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi told a news conference that the import of the resolutions was that rule of law should be supreme at all times.

    He noted that the resolutions were clear – that the Senate should suspend all confirmations until the resolution of issues relating to confirmation as contained in the constitution.

    Sen. Abdullahi said that the Executive must do what “needs to be done at all times”.

    “We are asking the Acting President to respect the resolutions of the Senate. The Senate rejected Magu and Magu is still acting as EFCC chairman,” he said.

  • What’s the Senate up to?

    ANALYSIS

    The Senate drew a battle line against Acting President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) yesterday. Henceforth, the hallowed chamber will not honour any confirmation request from him. The Upper Chamber will only have a re-think, if the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, is sacked. Evidently, the Presidency will have to choose between fraternity with the Senate or retaining Magu, who is believed to have stepped on toes in the course of fighting graft.

    Having fought President Muhammadu Buhari to a standstill, it is now the turn of the Law professor to face the heat. Prof. Osinbajo may have stirred the hornets net when he repudiated the Senate for crossing its constitutional boundary in budget approval. Promptly, senators were up in arm against him.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) midwifed the Presidency. Also, the ruling party controls the majority in the Senate. Therefore, it appears that the APC is at war with itself. But, the legislative/executive war of attrition has implications beyond party boundary. As the executive and legislature work at cross purposes, Nigerians are the victims of the curious ego war.

    The war even assumed another dimension on Tuesday. Senator Abaribe provoked a debate on what could be described as an imaginary power vacuum. He observed that, since President Buhari is on medical leave abroad and the Acting President also jetted out to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, for a function, the mantle of leadership should fall on Senate President Bukola Saraki.

    The first implication is that there is no end in sight to the Presidency/Senate rift. The frosty relationship has dragged on for two years, following Saraki’s emergence as the head of the National Assembly without the party’s backing. Yesterday’s tone of parliamentary debate suggested that a perilous future lay ahead for the beleaguered country. In a presidential democracy, when it appears that the parliament has become an unwilling partner, governmental activities may be crippled. The legislature is the first and the most important organ of government. It is the body that has its tap roots in the nooks and crannies of the country. Therefore, it should be the anchor of popular rule. In the absence of synergy between the two organs, there may be stagnancy.

    In recent times, Nigeria’s experience has suggested a drift towards that stagnancy. The gulf between the Presidency and the Senate has become widened. Apart from Magu’s rejection by the Senate twice, approval for presidential appointees have been denied in the past before reason prevailed. Once, the Senate refused to approve nominees for electoral jobs. Many have also pointed out that the delay in passing the budget was due to lack of amity between the two arms. There is mutual propaganda war in the media. Worried by the lack of mutual trust and confidence, the APC leadership brokered truce between the two arms of governance, but without success.

    According to observers, three factors are responsible for the legislative/executive warfare. There is absence of party discipline. The lack of discipline is attributed to the absence of party supremacy. Also, the APC has revealed itself as a party of strange ideological bedfellows. Its national leadership is weak and cannot broker peace. Once party loyalty is doubtful, discipline cannot be enforced.

    The picture contrasted with the idea of party organisation in the First and Second republics. What was in vogue was the national party caucus. It was the most powerful organ of the party, held in high esteem by the president, his deputy, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Yakubu Dogara), other top party leaders. It was led by the national chairman of the party (John Odigie-Oyegun). Many issues were debated and ratified at that level before they are brought to the parliament for constitutional approval. Grievances were also ventilated there. Once a decision was taken, it was final. There was decorum. The party, executive and National Assembly were on the same page.

    Can the APC adopt this time-tested style? If not, how can the legislature and the executive maintain cordial relations and steer the ship of state from disaster? The presidency is likely to put its feet down. A predictable resistance is expected from the National Assembly. The country, which the presidency and the senators claim to be working for, is the loser.

    If the President has a people-oriented plan for turning the country around, it should not be sacrificed on the altar of mutual distrust. Also, the presidency should consult and moderate its utterances and actions in utter sensitivity to the presence of a combative National Assembly.

    Will those in power ponder on the fate of the masses and retrace their steps from their rigid positions?

  • Judgement nullifying my election missing – Senator Sekibo

    Judgement nullifying my election missing – Senator Sekibo

    The Senator representing Rivers East senatorial district, George Thompson Sekibo, Tuesday raised the alarmed that the judgement of the Rivers state elections petition tribunal that ordered his removal from the Senate could not be accessed.

    A three-man panel sitting in Abuja sacked Sekibo and declared Hon. Andrew Uchendu, the petitioner, winner of the senatorial election.

    The Tribunal directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Sekibo and issue a fresh certificate of return Uchendu.

    The Tribunal held that the petitioner won the lawful majority vote cast during the Rivers Re-run legislative election of December 10, 2016‎

    Sekibo told reporters in Abuja on Tuesday that he will appeal the judgement to obtain justice.

    He noted that he and his team of lawyers have made several attempts to the tribunal to obtain the judgment but were told that judgement was missing.

    He said, “I have the right to appeal and we have made several attempts to the tribunal to obtain the judgement but they said it is missing and my judgement is the only one not seen. They have done their best and the onus is on me to appeal the judgement.

    “I want to appeal to the judgement panel to bring out the judgement they delivered on my matter. If my judgement continues to be missing, it is violation of justice and infringement on my fundamental human rights.”

    He said that the judgement was delivered by 9pm on June 28, 2017

     

  • Senate to Osinbajo: Remove Magu now

    Senate to Osinbajo: Remove Magu now

    The Senate on Tuesday demanded that the acting President Yemi Osinbajo must obey the resolutions of the Senate, including the immediate removal of the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu.

    It also suspended all confirmation of appointments until compliance with its resolution.

    Recall that the confirmation of the Chairman of the EFCC, who was appointed in Acting capacity by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 9, 2015, was first rejected by the Senate on December 15, 2017, and has consistently been rejected.

    Upon his appointment, Magu said he was committed to the anti-corruption war, drawing a connection between the economic challenges facing the country and the endemic corruption in the country.

    Similarly, on December 15, the Senate after a lengthy closed session drafted the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, to address journalists and announce the rejection of the Magu’s nomination.

    Abdullahi said Senate’s decision not to confirm Magu was due to unfavourable security reports against his nomination. He, however, did not give details of the security reports that stopped Magu’s confirmation as EFCC chief.