The face-off between Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel and Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello worsened on Tuesday with the two parties reporting their altercation on Saturday to the Senate.

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Otunba Gbenga Daniel and Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello


While Obasanjo-Bello narrated her alleged ordeal in the hands of one of Daniel’s security aides on the floor of the Senate, the Ogun State Government forwarded a petition in which it described the senator’s action as “provocative” to the upper arm of the National Assembly.

The Senate, after listening to Obasanjo-Bello and contributions by some of its members, mandated its committees on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, National Security and Intelligence to investigate cases of brutalisation of civilians by security agents.

Obasanjo-Bello had, shortly after the plennary began, raised Order 15 of the Senate Standing Orders 2007 as amended and gave details of the face-off between her and Daniel’s security aide during the wedding of the daughter of Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala at the First Baptist Church, Ogbomoso.

The Order reads, “Any Senator may rise at any time to speak upon a matter of Privilege suddenly arising, and shall be prepared to move, without Notice, a motion declaring that a contempt or breach of privilege has been committed, or referring the matter to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges, but if the matter is raised in Committee of the Whole Senate, the chairman shall leave the chair to report progress.”

The Senator said, “Sir, it is an issue of assault by a member of the State Security Service on my person and I feel that giving the prevailing circumstances, I should bring it to notice here on the floor.”

Asked what happened by the President of the Senate, Mr. David Mark, Obasanjo-Bello said, “On Saturday sir, I was invited and duly attended a wedding in which I sat behind the governor of my state (Daniel). When the thanksgiving was going on sir, I got up to praise the Lord as is usual in such ceremonies.

“The security agents attached to the governor was standing by my side and the governor was sitting in front of me and I was jubilating with the celebrant (raising her hand a little above shoulder length), this was as much as how my hand was up and I was dancing and praising the Lord and the next thing I knew was the security agent pulled my hand and twisted it back, saying that I was about to touch the governor’s head.

“What I did was to push him and I said what kind of nonsense is this? He came and stood in front of me. I stood up and went to another seat.

“And, sir, given the fact that recently, a young female was beaten up on the streets of Lagos mercilessly, I think we need to caution our security agents because that issue became an international debacle and if they continue like this sir, we don’t know where it will end.

“All that the man (Daniel’s Security aide) needed to do was say, ‘ma, please be careful, the governor’s head is in front of you.”

She claimed that an edited version of the video clip of the incident was currently being aired on some television stations in Ogun state. According to her, what was being shown does not contain where the security aide twisted her hand.

Obasanjo-Bello wondered when it became an offence to dance behind a governor.

Before ruling on her Point of Order, Mark said from what he read in the papers, the senator was accused of dancing “provocatively.”

Contributing to the debate, the Deputy President of the Senate, Mr. Ike Ekweremadu, said though the incident was condemnable, the matter should have come under an Order of Personal Explanation instead of Breach of Privilege.

Senator Joy Emordi said, “ It is very unfortunate. What happened is an insult on the psyche of the people of this country, Nigerian women in particular, because I was wondering what the security men, so many of them, were doing behind the governor in a church where they were praying to God.”

Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, however, called for caution. He said the floor of the Senate should not be used as a platform to settle political scores. He said since the problem was largely political, it deserved a political solution.

Senator Joseph Akaagerger in his contribution appealed to the President of the Senate to intervene and encourage a rapport between legislators and their state governors.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Senator Nuhu Aliyu, said the case of Obasanjo-Bello was the second involving lawmakers.


Aliyu recalled that Senator Suleiman Nasif suffered a similar treatment in the hands of security agents in Bauchi State. He promised to take up the matter with the Director-General of the State Security Service.

But the Ogun State Government said in the petition it sent to the Senate that Obasanjo-Bello had ridiculed the office of the governor and caused him serious embarrassment.

The petition by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Gbemi Onakoya, which was addressed to the President of the Senate, accused the Senator of ”throwing caution and protocol to the wind by assaulting a security detail who had tried to stop her from further assaulting the governor.”

Onakoya attached the video clip and newspaper cutting of the incident, which he said “properly captured and articulated the show of shame exhibited by the lawmaker at the event.”

He added, ”The embattled Senator was watched by all freely throwing caution and protocol to the wind by directly assaulting a security detail who tried to prevail on her not to assault His Excellency.

“A situation where the person of His Excellency will be subjected to such provocative acts and ridicule to the consternation of the congregation in that church by any individual or group would not augur well for genuine political discipline, and would, therefore, not be acceptable.”

The petition also catalogued some other acts allegedly perpetrated by the Senator at different fora in the state, saying they constituted “a security breach, capable of provoking reprisal attacks in the state.”

The government therefore called on the Senate to commence necessary process of taking action against the senator.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200811193174246

what a crap!

If the woman want to become Governor, let her wait till 2011, she must not go beyond her bound, Like it or not, she is not a governor,