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Revealed: Why Senate Suspended Sitting On Wednesday by unuane1(m): 9:18am On Oct 22, 2015 |
The omission by the All Progressives
Congress (APC) to concede a principal
office of the Senate to an opposition
member has started creating impact as the
suspension of Senate sitting on
Wednesday principally anchored on the
need to prevent the Deputy Senate
President, Ike Ekweremadu, from
presiding.
However, the screening of ministerial
nominees will continue in the Senate today
(Thursday), amid the likelihood that the
former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi
Chibuike Amaechi, will be listed in the
Order Paper of the Senate for screening.
Also, the Senate on Wednesday allayed
fear over possible expiration of time lag
for screening of ministerial nominees as
outlined by the constitution, stating that it
was still on schedule under the 21 working
days for the exercise to complete.
There have been initial reports that the
Senate suspended its sitting on the
previous day as part of ploy for Senators
to mobilise support for the Senate
President, Bukola Saraki, as he appeared
before the Code of Conduct Tribunal on
Wednesday.
Not less than 80 Senators were at the
Code of Conduct Tribunal, all mobilised by
the Deputy Senate President in show of
solidarity with Saraki.
However, Senate leader, Senator Ali
Ndume, in a chat with correspondents,
disclosed that had the Senate not
suspended the sitting, the task of
presiding over the screening of ministerial
nominees would have been performed by
the Deputy Senate President, a member of
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He stressed that Saraki should be the one
to preside over the Senate during the
screening because most of the nominees
are APC members.
Ndume added that the screening of
ministerial nominees was considered as a
national assignment, which, according to
him, demands that the Senate President
who started the process should complete
the task.
Said he: “The Senate President has to be
in court 10.00 am (Wednesday). He is the
Presiding Officer. And this is an
extraordinary time because we are
screening ministers that are predominantly
APC. So, that was why we said this
screening should continue under the
Senate President presiding.
“This is not a normal day because we are
screening APC nominees of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. And there are issues
surrounding it that we don’t want any
other issue out of it again.
“The Presiding Officer is the Senate
President who started the screening and
we said we would continue taking a day
off and continue tomorrow (today).
Speaking against the right of Ekweremadu
to preside even on matters of screening of
ministerial nominees, Ndume said even the
constitution of Nigeria does not grant him
such express chance.
He said: “It is just like when the President
is off, the Vice President does not
automatically become the President of
Nigeria. He remains the Vice President
until a letter is transmitted as such.
“That is what the constitution says. We
thought that the court would not even sit
today (Wednesday). But when we
discovered that the court would sit today
(Wednesday) and the Senate President is
presiding and we have an issue at hand
that the Senate President and that is the
screening of ministers, we said let us shift
it by one day to enable the Senate
President attend the court session. And
then we continue tomorrow (today).”
Ndume, however, assured that the former
governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi,
would be screened.
He said the report of the Ethics, Privileges
and Public Petition Committee will not
stop Amaechi’s screening because the
process would be subjected to the wish of
the majority in the Senate.
Said Ndume: “Let me add that the Ethics
and Privileges report is not the
determinant of Amaechi. It is the Senate.
Even if they write their report, it has to be
laid before the Senate, which will decide on
the report. It is not the report that will
decide the fate of Amaechi.
“Whatever the Committee recommends to
the Senate, it is the Senate that will
decide. And I have told Nigerians several
times that this Senate belongs to APC.
“We have PDP senators that are in the
minority. We are practising democracy in a
changed environment. That is to allow the
minorities to have their say. But you know
that the majority will always have its way.
“We have 58 senators, the Senate
President excluded, and they have 48
Senators. And Amaechi is an APC
candidate and the constitution is very
clear. Until there is conviction, you are
considered innocent until proven guilty
beyond reasonable doubt by a competent
court of law.
“Unfortunately, you cannot confirm or
disqualify Amaechi, we are the only ones
that can do that. And PDP cannot
disqualify Amaechi based on triviality. It
must be based on constitutionality.”
Meanwhile, the Senate has allayed fear
over possible expiration of time lag for
screening of ministerial nominees as
outlined by the constitution, stating that it
was still on schedule under the 21 working
days for the exercise to complete.
Nigerians have been drawing the Senate
attention to the provision of the
constitution (section 147 (6) which grants
only 21 working days for the Senate to
screen nominees after which the President
could go ahead to appoint nominees not
screened as ministers.
The Senate leader, Ali Ndume, who cleared
air on the issue, said the Senate was still
very much within the 21- working days for
the exercise.
Arguments are being canvassed that since
the Senate has continued to dilly-dally
over the case of former governor of Rivers
State, Rotimi Amaechi, through a letter
from President Muhammadu Buhari dated
September 30, Amaechi may automatically
become a minister on the failure by the
Senate to screen him in line with provision
of the constitution.
Ndume made more clarification on the
issue in a chat with Senate correspondents
on Wednesday, stating the 21 working
days being interpreted by the public to be
five working days of the week are different
from the working days in the Senate.
According to him, the Senate has three
working days in a week and not five
working days as it is with other public
institutions in the country.
The three working days in the Senate and
by extension, the House of
Representatives, he said, adding that the
three days of their plenary sessions are
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
He said: “The Senate is an institution, an
independent arm of government and
should be respected and strengthened.
Besides, if the President takes his
discretion to take his time to submit the
(ministerial) list, which Nigerians patiently
waited for, for about four months, why are
Nigerians not patient with the Senate to
wait for its conclusion?
“Supposing we said let’s take it off till
next week, we have that right to do that.
But the constitution is guiding us that we
have to do this within 21 working days.
And we are still within the 21 working
days. It is not 21 days, it is 21 working
days. And our working days in the Senate
plenary is three days in a week.
“So, if you are talking about 21 working
days, (it means) that the Senate will do
this within seven weeks because we sit for
plenary Tuesdays , Wednesdays and
Thursdays. That is three working. It means
that logically, we can do this up to seven
weeks”. http://dailytimes.com.ng/revealed-why-senate-suspended-sitting-on-wednesday/ |
Re: Revealed: Why Senate Suspended Sitting On Wednesday by ENTROVERT(m): 9:18am On Oct 22, 2015 |
oka |
Re: Revealed: Why Senate Suspended Sitting On Wednesday by INTROVERT(f): 9:20am On Oct 22, 2015 |
Re: Revealed: Why Senate Suspended Sitting On Wednesday by bluaero(m): 9:20am On Oct 22, 2015 |
What the heck is going on above me |
Re: Revealed: Why Senate Suspended Sitting On Wednesday by benedictnsi(m): 9:24am On Oct 22, 2015 |
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