By Ezrel Tabiowo
Abuja
Against the backdrop of the present impasse rocking the House of Representatives following the defection of Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal from the PDP to the APC, the Senate President, David Mark, yesterday said that he would do all in his power to ensure that the matter was resolved.
The Senate President, who gave the promise during yesterday’s plenary, said though the matter was already in court, he would go a mile further by intervening in the crisis towards ensuring that the legislature was protected at all cost.
Mark said: “We are not to interfere in the internal affairs of each house. However, as chairman of the National Assembly, I cannot fold my arms or pretend that all is well about the current crisis.
“I am, therefore, going to do all I can to resolve the current impasse. Furthermore, the matter is already in a court of law, we cannot therefore discuss the issues here. I want to assure all of you that I will do the needful to protect and defend the legislature at all cost.”
Also, Senators of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party yesterday entered into a closed meeting following Tuesday’sthreat by some lawmakers to shut down government by suspending all legislative business forthwith.
The threat by the lawmakers which led to an adjournment of today’s plenary, prompted the closed meeting which lasted for almost 45 minutes. It was presided over by the Senate president.
Speaking to newsmen after the meeting, the Senate Leader disclosed that the essence of the meeting was to address fundamental issues which threatened Nigeria’s democracy, particularly those arising from the ward congress of the PDP which held last Saturday.
He said: “I am sure you are aware that PDP caucus met yesterday and today on fundamental issues affecting democracy in Nigeria arising from the ward congress of our party last Saturday.
“The issues need to be addressed very urgently by relevant PDP stakeholders in the interest of our democracy. You will all surely be briefed when the issues are addressed.”
Even when told that the continuous boycott of legislative business in the Senate at this time of escalating Boko Haram insurgency may portray the Senate in bad light before Nigerians, he said: “If we do not have our democracy, we won’t have the Senate. Our democracy is bigger than the Senate.”
In a related development, Senator Babafemi Ojudu (APC), while reacting to the decision of PDP Senators to suspend legislative business, said the lawmakers had become victims of their own impunity fostered by the PDP.
According to him, the opposition party in the upper chamber was not involved in playing the card of suspending legislative business as APC lawmakers were ready to continue holding sessions.
He said the move by aggrieved PDP senators to suspend legislative activities was driven by their personal interests as against a collective one that accommodates that of the Nigerian people.
“The Peoples Democratic Party senators are now victims of their party’s impunity in a democracy, now they are complaining. If we have our way, we will come here tomorrow and sit. It is not about personal interest, it is about the interest of the party. It should be about our people. Now they have seen injustice, they are fighting. We have seen injustice for more than two and half years. We wanted to fight; our colleagues did not allow us to fight.
“Why must it be that it is when it affects us that we act? People should have standards. Now that they have seen that a lot of them are no longer welcome back in their homes, now that they have realised that they have made themselves slaves to the executive, they are shouting. When you present yourself as a slave, definitely, you will be treated as a slave. That is the consequences of their actions over the years. But Nigerians voted them here to come and work. We must work.
“Unfortunately, under the rules, we cannot work. That is why the opposition senators were busy shouting, Nay! Nay! Nay! When the motion for adjournment was moved by the Senate Leader.”
Ojudu continued: “If we are working for Nigeria, we should be seen to be doing so. Now that the PDP senators have problems with their party, president and governors, they are not allowing us to work.
“We want to really work now but the system does not allow us. It is unfortunate that the 2015 budget will be affected but we are in the minority, we had our say but they have their way.
“We are going to call a meeting of our party caucus and we are going to discuss this. We even expected that they will call us to an executive meeting and then we discuss this matter. They don’t have to come in and adjourn like that.”