Senate threatens AGF’s arrest, summons SGF Reps in rowdy session over immunity
By Ezrel Tabiowo, Taiye Odewale and Joshua Egbodo, Abuja
The apparent feud between the Senate and the All Progressives Congress-led government, yesterday further deepened with some senators threatening to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari over the trial of the Senate leadership for alleged forgery.
Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki, his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and two others, are currently being tried for their alleged role in the forgery of the Senate Standing Rules used for the conduct of the election of principal officials of the 8th Senate, June last year.
The Senate, in a strongly worded statement, slammed Buhari and specifically condemned the alleged role of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, accusing him of masterminding their leaders’ persecution.
But exonerating the Presidency, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, castigated the accused lawmakers, saying the trial was not about the Senate but Saraki and Ekweremadu.
Irked by the seeming conducts of the duos, the Senate summoned Malami and Babachir to appear before it to explain their roles and statements credited to them in the media. However, the AGF severally turned down the Senate’s invitation, on the grounds that he was not answerable to them.
Closed-door-meeting
Disturbed by the development, the lawmakers at a closed-door-meeting resolved to summon both Babachir and Malami, shortly before yesterday’s plenary.
Highly reliable sources at the session confided in Blueprint that the session became rowdy as senators from different camps openly argued for or against the continued trial of the Senate leadership by the Executive.
Some senators were particularly irked that the Presidency has refused to back down on the prosecution of the Senate presiding officers, while others were of the opinion that the president should not be directly linked to the trial.
“However, tempers rose when some of the senators advocated the commencement of impeachment against the president so as to prove to him that the parliament has a stronger hold on him than he could possibly think,” our source further informed.
Melaye tackles Tinubu
It all started, our reporter gathered, when Senator Dino Melaye (APC Kogi West), who has openly demonstrated his love and support for Saraki, almost went berserk as he allegedly threatened to beat up Senator Oluremi Tinubu (APC Lagos Central), who was said to have cautioned him while allegedly using derogatory words on the president.
Melaye, it was further revealed, “used unpalatable sexual derogatory language on her,” until some lawmakers came to her rescue when it was almost turning into a physical attack.
Melaye, it was said, insisted that those being used by the executive to harass Saraki, especially, the AGF, must be humbled at all cost, no matter what it will take.
Melaye it was said, argued that “Malami must be forced to appear before the Senate and must be ridiculed thoroughly to serve as a deterrence to others working for the president in the bid to pull Saraki down.”
Senator Tinubu, who was said to have been given the opportunity to speak immediately after Melaye allegedly commented that some words and action of some senators in the fight against the Presidency was “like a kindergarten pupil”, a statement that allegedly threw Melaye into a fit.
Our source confirmed that Melaye cut Tinubu short as he allegedly shouted her down, a move resisted by the female senator who was said to have told Melaye she’s not his age mate.
Sources revealed that while Senator Melaye whose voice rose than that of Tinubu was battering her with derogatory words, the Senate President was said to have been laughing cynically even as the female lawmaker struggled to match Melaye’s baritone voice.
While a few of the senators were said to have made efforts at getting both lawmakers to calm down, four other male senators, made up of two each from PDP and APC, were said to have joined Melaye in abusing Senator Tinubu.
Unity Forum and Like Minds
The ‘fight’ in the Senate chamber, according to our findings, is a continuation of a plot to oust Buhari, which was said to have commenced in the Asokoro home of a former governor of a North West state, who is now a senator.
One of our sources disclosed that three of their colleagues openly threatened to arrange assassination of any senator who goes to court to testify against Saraki, while another source who had confirmed all that transpired, denied the threat.
“The truth is that the fight was clearly between members of the opposing groups in the Senate, “the Like Minds” who support Saraki and the “Unity Forum” his antagonists who are having the backing of the Presidency,” our reporters further gathered.
The session had reportedly opened with a call by the “Like Minds” to some of the “Unity Forum” members like Senators Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi, and Kabir Marafa, who still have pending cases in court against Saraki, to withdraw the suits in the interest of peace.
Saraki’s loyalists, sources revealed, insisted that the strength of the new criminal forgery case against Saraki and Ekweremadu was premised on the civil suits instituted by the duos.
It would be recalled that a peace and reconciliation committee set up some months ago by Saraki to find a uniting platform for the feuding senators had recommended the disbandment of the two groups and also the withdrawal of the cases instituted by the Marafa camp against the emergence of Saraki and Ekweremadu as presiding officers of the Senate.
The committee’s report which was yet to be debated after it was presented about eight weeks ago in another executive session, also recommended that the interest of the Unity Forum members should be taken care of to give them a sense of belonging in the Senate.
None of the proposals made in the report has been adhered to by the Senate leadership.
Plenary
Meanwhile, at the resumed plenary yesterday, the lawmakers summoned the SGF to appear before its assigned committees over alleged offensive remarks.
The body also threatened to issue warrant of arrest on the AGF if he fails again to appear before its committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to explain his role in the ongoing trial.
The SGF, based on Senate’s resolution to a motion moved by Senator Mathew Urhoghide (PDP Edo South), is to appear before the Senate Committees on Ethics, Finance and Appropriation for explanation on recent remark made by him that constituency projects would not be implementable in the 2016 budget.
Urhoghide in the motion drew the attention of the Senate to a publication of Daily Trust, dated June 28. 2016 where the SGF among others, declared that the constituency projects in the 2016
budgets would not be implemented by the relevant Ministries, Department and Agencies of Government (MDAs), due to paucity of fund.
He wondered why the SGF would single out constituency projects meant for the National Assembly which is less than 1% of the entire N6.6trillion budget.
According to him, the Executive arm of government, has severally gone against the laid down provisions of the constitution as regards budgetary procedures, a development which he noted, constitute impeachable offences.
He, therefore, warned that going ahead with the non implementation of constituency projects as maintained by the SGF, would leave the Senate with no alternative but draw the sword of Damocles against the presidency.
What the SGF ‘said’
Babachir had in the interview said: “The government might find it very difficult to implement the constituency projects to the letter because MDAs might not find constituency projects as critical to the execution of their mandates and given the dwindling resources, these could be some of the areas that would suffer during implementation”.
Senator Abiodun Olujimi (PDP Ekiti South), who seconded the motion, reminded the Senate of the SGF’s alleged disparaging remarks on those who participated in the 2014 National Confab and the reports itself in the same interview.
According to her, Babachir in the interview described the Confab reports as non critical in any way to the present government , being more or less, a job given to the boys by the last immediate past administration.
She declared that the Senate should not allow any appointee of the Executive arm of government to ridicule it in anyway, saying ‘ “we should not allow any political appointee to take this chamber for a ride”.
Though Urhoghide and senators who supported the motion wanted SGF to appear before the Senate as a whole, but the Senate President, in his ruling, amended it by assigning Senate committees
on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions in collaboration with Finance and Appropriation to summon him for appearance before them for his defence.
On his part, the AGF is to appear Friday this week, having failed to honour two previous summons issued him by the committee.
This was sequel to a report submitted to the Senate by the committee’s Chairman, David Umoru ( APC Niger East), declaring that Malami has not honoured any of the invitations extended to him by the committee since last month, when Senate called for explanations from him through
resolution, over forgery case against Saraki and others.
In his ruling on the report, the Senate President Saraki threatened that if the AGF failed to appear before the committee this week, the body would have no other option than to exercise its
constitutional powers in making him to appear.
He said: “We all heard the explanation of the chairman on Judiciary, and what he is trying to get across to us here is to tell us the status of the situation, because what we have been reading in the
papers was of great concern where the number one judicial officer of the country will be the one that will be flouting the Constitution, because 89 (c) is very clear.
“But it appears from what you are saying, that the Attorney General is requesting for one more chance to be given to appear before you. And I think as a Senate, it is always in the progress of development. And as such we will do that and ensure that he does come this time, otherwise
we will have no choice than to follow the constitution strictly. So, you will report back to us before the end of the week to let us know the status of that situation. And if that does not happen, we will go ahead and go in line with the Constitution very clearly”.
Immunity tears Reps apart
In a related development, the House of Representatives, yesterday, resumed to a rowdy session from its break, over a bill seeking immunity for presiding officers of the National Assembly, as well as those of Houses of Assembly.
Sponsor of the proposed constitutional amendment bill, and Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Leo Ogor, had in the proposal wanted Section 308(3) of the 1999 Constitution altered by making provision for immunity to cover the Senate President and his deputy, as well as Speaker of the House of Representatives and his deputy from criminal prosecution during tenure of office, and same to be extended to cover presiding officers of state parliaments.
In his argument, Ogor said the proposed amendment was intended to strengthen the parliament as well as enhance the separation of powers among the three arms of government, and solely intended only for presiding officers of the parliaments.
“In the executive arm, the president and the vice president, governors and their deputies are enjoying immunity; so I think it is important for presiding officers to enjoy same,” he said.
His argument was, however, countered by the Majority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who stated that such move was an oddity as it is not obtainable anywhere in the world, stressing further that the timing was also wrong.
“Timing is very important, and we don’t want to send the wrong signal, because of what is going on in the Senate, it will be misinterpreted. Let’s do what will endure, for in most climes, only the president and deputy enjoy it (immunity),” he said.
Trouble started, however, when it appeared to some members opposing the bill that Speaker Yakubu Dogara was up to jumping the usual procedure of putting question for voice votes for a bill to scale second reading, before committing same to relevant committee for further action, as he said he was going to commit it to the special ad hoc committee on constitution review, headed by the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun.
Hon. Aliyu Madaki opposed the move through a point of order, reminding the Speaker on the procedure through which bills are passed on the floor.
But the Speaker noted that committing the bill to the committee does not mean outright passage, as the proposal can possibly die at the committee level.
“We have experts in the committee and if they find anything wrong in the bill, they will throw it out, and it will never come back to the larger house,” Dogara said amidst shouts of ‘no,’ ‘no,’ ‘no.’
The Speaker subsequently sought further guidance from Deputy Chairman, Rules and Business committee, Hon. Bode, who cited Order 8 Rule 98 (3) that upon the second reading, such a bill shall be referred to the special ad-hoc committee on constitution review after which Dogara hit
the gavel, signalling the referral of the bill to the panel without voice votes, throwing the session into another chaotic moment that lasted for several minutes.