The alleged militarization and massive rigging of the February 23 Presidential, National Assembly and March 9 Governorship, State Houses of Assembly and Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Area Council elections, Wednesday, threw the Senate into a rowdy session.
This came as the House of Representatives also resolved to set up an adhoc committee to investigate the Independent National Electoral Committee, INEC, on the spate of inconclusive polls that had trailed this year’s general election.
The rowdy session in the Senate followed a point of order by the Chairman, Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Senator Dino Melaye, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Kogi West. Melaye had requested to properly present a motion on the elections in another legislative day, but senators on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, vehemently kicked against and tried to frustrate it.
Senator Melaye, who came under Order 42 of the 2015 Senate Standing Order as Amended, sought the permission of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and his colleagues to allow him come forward with a motion to debate what he described as the militarization of the general elections, insisting that ‘this cannot be swept under the carpet.’
In his presentation, Senator Melaye, who noted that his position was not political, said the motion would help curb electoral malpractices and correct the situation in future elections.
He said: “What I am raising this morning has nothing to do with political parties. I want to bring before this Senate the elections, both on March 9 and 23 in this country and I believe that the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not close its eyes to the happenings of those elections.
“I want that election to be debated on this floor. I want to bring a motion to be addressed by this Senate in the next legislative day so that the militarization of the process, the abuses of this election, will not go undiscussed in this parliament for posterity sake.
“This is my prayer. Let it be discussed as a Senate. We will debate and give accounts of what happened in our various senatorial districts with the vision of correcting electoral malpractices.”
At this point, Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who presided, put the question to a voice vote and there was loud echo of “ayes and “nays”.
Saraki, who ruled that the prayer be adopted, said according to the Senate’s Standing Order, only one-fifth of the lawmakers was required to support the prayer before it could be adopted. “Distinguished colleagues, by the order, you only need one-fifth of the senators to support the motion.
It will be taken in the next legislative day,” he said, The trouble It was at this point that trouble started as the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, APC, Yobe North, drew the attention of the Senate President and his colleagues to the fact that there was a non-partisan motion on the floor, but they did not hear the ruling of Saraki. Amid the increasing noise at the hallowed chamber, Senator Lawan asked, “A non-partisan motion was on the floor. You ruled. We didn’t hear the ruling. What was your ruling?”
On his part, the deputy Senate Majority leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, APC, Kebbi South, noted that there was no motion, adding that Senator Melaye introduced himself as a “senator-elect”.
Na’Allah said, “He was not speaking as a senator.”
Disturbed by the action and trying to calm the charged senators, Saraki again explained his ruling, saying when the motion was at the end of the day brought before them, it will not be partisan as the leadership of the Upper chamber would look at it properly before it would appear on the Order Paper.
According to him, legal action will be taken where necessary. Trouble continued as Senator Barau Jibrin, APC, Kano North amid the rowdiness who stood up to question Saraki’s ruling again, quoted the order of the Senate which permits a lawmaker to challenge the opinion of the Senate president/the chairman, saying, “I don’t know your ruling on the motion.”
Saraki, however, pleaded with his colleagues not to abuse the process of the plenary and move on to other important business of the day.
0 Comments