Ezrel Tabiowo in this piece highlights the present struggles of the Senate to stand by its decision to confirm Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, despite the heightening controversy of so doing.
Following Senate’s confirmation of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria last week, the leadership of the upper chamber has recently been under fire whilst engrossed in a battle of redeeming its once pristine reputation and explaining the reasons for its decision to go ahead to confirm the ministerial nominee whose name was forwarded by President Goodluck Jonathan despite stiff opposition to same by Nigerians.
According to political analysts, Obanikoro’s confirmation, which could be considered the most controversial given the heightened tension which the seventh Senate had to put up with in reaching a decision, has without a doubt, further threatened and weakened the unity of purpose with which the chamber conducts itself in the past.
While some lawmakers belonging to the opposition perceive the decision of the Senate President, David Mark, as one politically motivated to patronise the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to which he belongs, others describe his action as an outright disregard for the existing traditions of the Senate, particularly concerning the conditions for confirmation of ministerial nominees forwarded by the president.
Such senators posit that according to the tradition of the senate, in a situation where a ministerial nominee lacks the support of 2 out of the 3 senators representing the state from which the former belongs, the upper chamber shall decline confirmation of the nominee.
Recall that the Senate on July 11, 2011, had rejected the nomination of Obadiah Ando from Taraba state on same grounds.
Ando, who was a former Minister of State in the Water Resources Ministry, was rejected following a fierce opposition mounted against his nomination by the three senators representing his home state, Taraba.
The senators had alleged that Ando had nothing to show for his previous tenure as minister, as he failed to attract even borehole projects for the benefit of his immediate constituency in the state.
Similarly, Obanikoro’s nomination which was also fiercely opposed by all three All Progressives Congress senators, however, failed to attract same consequences on the floor last week.
The reason behind Obanikoro’s rejection by the three opposition lawmakers from his state, some Peoples Democratic Party senators said, was purely more on political grounds than the reasons stated.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, upon learning of Obanikoro’s nomination by the president, had immediately called for the banning of the former Minister of state for Defence, from holding any public office over his alleged role in the rigging of the governorship election in Ekiti state on June 21, 2014.
Recall that a 37-minute recording, which was deposed to by Sagir Koli, a Captain in the 32nd Artillery Brigade stationed in Ekiti state, had indicted Obanikoro amongst others of being masterminds behind the rigging of the Ekiti elections.
The opposition senators, bent on following through with the party’s script, formed a strong resistance to the confirmation of the former minister of state during plenary last Wednesday.
The row
Determined to frustrate every move likely to ensure Obanikoro’s confirmation, lawmakers belonging to the All Progressive Congress, last Wednesday protested the screening and confirmation of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The protest, which however, failed to stop the eventual confirmation of Obanikoro by the Senate, led opposition lawmakers to stage a walk-out during plenary.
Among the eight APC lawmakers who protested Obanikoro’s confirmation were Senators Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central), who first raised the first point of order, and Ganiyu Solomon (Lagos West), who raised the 8th and the last point of order to stop the nominee’s confirmation by the Senate alongside seven other ministerial nominees already screened by the upper chamber.
Saraki, following a motion moved by the Leader of the Senate, represented by the Deputy Leader, Abdul Ningi (PDP Bauchi Central), raised Order 15 of the Senate rules under personal privilege, calling the attention of the Senate President, David Mark, to a resolution reached two weeks ago during a closed session, wherein it was agreed that the upper chamber dissolve into another closed session before proceeding to screen one of the four nominees, Musiliu Obanikoro.
But the Senate President, who ruled Saraki out of order, declared that the executive session is not a privilege, but a decision that can be made by the Senate at any time deemed necessary.
Another lawmaker, Senator Gbenga Ashafa (APC, Lagos East), also made an attempt to stop Obanikoro’s screening by recourse to order 53(5) of the Senate standing rules which states: “That reference should not be made by the Senate to any matter on which judicial decision is pending in a such a way as might in the opinion of the Senate President, prejudice the interest of parties thereto”.
He argued that based on the strength of a story in one of the national dailies recently, which stated that Obanikoro had a case against his nomination before a Lagos High Court, that included the Senate President in the suit, made it inappropriate for Obanikoro to appear before the senate for any screening or confirmation.
But David Mark in ruling him out of order, denied knowledge of any notice served on him regarding the case, saying, “There is no case in court against the subject matter before the Senate for legislative consideration.”
Other stiff objections to Obanikoro’s confirmation from Senator Babajide Omoworare (Osun East) and Senator Olubunmi Adetunbi (Ekiti North) were also ruled out of order by the Senate president.
But the stiff protest by APC lawmakers however lost its grip when the last effort by Senator Ganiyu Solomon to stop Obanikoro left a gap which the Senate President immediately latched on to resolve the conflict.
Senator Solomon while coming under order 53(9) called for the deferment of Obanikoro’s screening.
He insisted that since all the three senators from Lagos state kicked against Obanikoro’s screening, the Senate in line with its known tradition, should put off the nominee’s screening pending when the tension against his nomination dies down.
The Senate President, David Mark, noting the conflict the Senate was caught in between from both traditions, gave two options out of the dilemma. One, to give any former senator nominated for ministerial position, a take a bow and go privilege; and two, to stop any senatorial nominee, having two or the entire three senators from his or her state against him, from screening and confirmation.
“We are no doubt caught between two different traditions here. The simple way out of the dilemma at hand, is to put the question to the floor on whether the Senate should in line with the first tradition, allow Obanikoro as a former Senator to take a bow and go after which question will be put for the second one if answer to the first one is nay”, he said.
But then a twist ensued when the question was put by the senate president to the first question on whether Obanikoro should take a bow and go, as same received an overwhelming yes from Senators belonging to the Peoples Democratic Party.
Accordingly, the Senate, thereafter, confirmed the nomination of Obanikoro and the seven other nominees screened before him.
They are: Mrs Hauwa’u Lawan from Jigawa State, Kenneth Kobani from Rivers State, Senator Joel Danlami Ikenya from Taraba State and Senator Patricia Akwashiki from Nasarawa State.
Others are, Professor Nicholas Akise Ada (Benue State), Col Augustine Akobundu (Abia State) and Engineer Fidelis Nwankwo ( Ebonyi State).
Briefing journalists last week after Obanikoro’s confirmation, the opposition lawmakers disassociated themselves from the process, on the strength that same was null and void since the senate did not form a quorum to so do after their walkout.
Reaction trailing confirmation
Amongst the many reactions trailing the confirmation of Senator Obanikoro as minister, the Lagos state House of Assembly last week berated the Senate president, while condemning the confirmation which it described as controversial.
Spokesperson of the House and Chairman of the House Committee on Information and Security, Hon Segun Olulade, in a press release said the action by Senator Mark was a demonstration of “disgraceful loyalty to President Jonathan and his party, the PDP, which negates his honour as president of the senior chamber of nation’s legislative arm of government.”
According to Olulade, “his (Mark) display of undue and dishonourable loyalty, the Senate President has dragged his esteemed status in the mud by stage-managing the passage for the ministerial nominee even when it is obvious that the nominee is battling with serious integrity issue laden with insecurity, rigging and fraudulent acts.
“The crime committed by David Mark in that unholy and damaging confirmation is more than tearing of the national flag. It is less criminal to take Nigerian flag to the public and tear it off than a Senate President confirming somebody alleged to have committed a crime to serve as senator especially when such person is being designated to take security portfolio like Minister of State for Defence with the plan to return him to do more serious damages against the nation during the forthcoming general election by supervising rigging using the Army,” Olulade said.
He stressed further that, “I am sure neither the American Senate President nor head of the British Parliament could take such awful and criminal decision against the ethics of their respected offices and against the nation’s overall interest.”
Senate’s defence
But the Senate, while defending and standing by its decision to confirm Obanikoro, through its spokesman, Eyinnaya Abaribe, (PDP Abia South), said that the “matter of quorum in the Senate as guided by its rules, is determined at inception of everyday’s business and not at the tail end in which the APC senators staged a walkout protest”.
According to Abaribe, all the reasons stated by the opposition for not wanting to get the former Minister of State for Defence confirmed remained mere allegations, and until proven otherwise by a competent law court, Obanikoro stands innocent.
His words: “There are allegations against Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, but in our law and the constitution of Nigeria, anything that is a mere allegation that is not a court decision is nothing but a mere allegation.
“The laws of Nigeria are very clear; you are innocent until proven guilty, so that is what played out on the floor of the Senate. The Senators who addressed the press conference and spoke otherwise of Senator Obanikoro are enjoying a privilege.
This is because some of them have EFCC cases, and they are still in the Senate because of this privilege of being innocent until proven guilty. So they cannot go to a press conference, and try to convict somebody when the person has not been convicted by a court of law. The Senate is not a court of law and even when the Senate conducts its own investigation, it passes it to the appropriate body for prosecution” he said.
Also, in a statement issued yesterday by the Special Adviser to the Senate President, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, Senator David Mark stated that the upper chamber complied with legislative proceedures in confirming Obanikoro as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The statement read:
“The attention of the office of the President of the Senate has been drawn to the needless controversies concerning the screening of ministerial nominees on the floor of the Senate with particular reference to the confirmation of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.
“We will like to state without any form of ambiguity that the President of the Senate complied with all the legislative practices and procedures in the confirmation of all the ministerial nominees that appeared before the Senate.
“It is strange that those who hold contrary views have laid claims to the tradition of the Senate that where three Senators are opposed to a nominee, such a nominee are automatically disqualified and cannot be confirmed by the Senate. This is misplaced.
“It is important to state that the Senate found herself in a situation where two of its traditions were in conflict. There exists a tradition of permitting nominees that had served as Senators or member of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic to take a bow and go without being questioned.”
According to the statement, “the Senate also has a tradition of stopping any nominee that fails to secure at least two of the three Senators.
“Where the Senate was faced with this conflict, the option available to the President of the Senate, as the presiding officer was to put the question to the floor and rule applicably.
“The President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, did just that. He put the question through voice vote, and ayes won resoundingly and he so ruled.
“On the issue of courts, Rules 53 (5) of the Senate Standing Rules did state; “if in the opinion of the President of the Senate, the matter will be subjudice.” Senator Mark made it clear that he has not been served any court order neither has he received any injunction restraining him from processing the confirmation of the ministerial nominees.
“Besides, it is a known fact that an accused is presumed innocent until proven otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction.
“The processes and decisions reached on the screening and confirmation of the ministerial nominees were in line with the rules guiding the activities of the Senate.”