PARTY DEFECTIONS: Tension rises in Senate
Senate President, David Mark
The Senate for the second time in two
days held an executive session on Wednesday because of the fear that
an open deliberation on the defection bid of the 11 Peoples Democratic
Party senators to the All Progressives Congress could generate tension.
But tension still played out as the
aggrieved senators and their APC counterparts left angrily
immediately the session which lasted about two hours ended.
The action of the senators , who were
led by Senator Magnus Abe, was considered ‘strange,’ going by the fact
that the Senate President, David Mark, was usually allowed to leave
the chamber before other lawmakers.
A meeting between Mark and the aggrieved senators on Tuesday night over the issue had ended inconclusively.
Our correspondent learnt that the
intention of the aggrieved senators was to brief journalists about
what transpired during the executive session.
A source at the session told The PUNCH that
Abe and the others were disappointed when Mark
directed the Senate
spokesperson, Enyinnaya Abaribe, to brief the media on the outcome of
the meeting.
Abaribe told journalists that the
meeting resolved that Mark should seek legal advice before he could
act on the letter of defection written by the 11 senators.
He explained that there were serious
legal and constitutional issues surrounding the defection of the
aggrieved lawmakers which needed the opinion of legal experts.
Abaribe said, “I can confirm to you that
on the matter of those who want to defect that the issue was also
discussed during the closed session and it was also resolved that the
Senate, the Senate president in particular, would have to seek further
legal advice.
“There were serious legal issues that
were thrown up during the discussion and the legal issues relate to both
the interpretation of the 1999 Constitution and the interpretation of
our rules within the Senate.”
The Senate spokesman said more time was given for further consultations.
He said, “It was also resolved that when
the Senate resumes plenary on Tuesday, the issue of defection would
also be looked into.
“What happens about the question of the
constitution and rules is that they are subject to the interpretation by
whoever is interpreting them.
“One thing is clear under Rule 25 of
the Senate, only the Senate president has the power and the authority to
interpret anything.
“Therefore, what we did in the
discussion is for the Senate president to obtain the views of various
senators and various people and he decided that it would now be
necessary for him to also seek further legal advice.
“I think it is in the best interest of
the country for decisions that are going to be taken to be taken with
due cognisance of the law. We are lawmakers; we are not lawbreakers.”
Asked why defections in the past were
not subjected to legal or constitutional interpretations, Abaribe said
those affected in the past did not go to court.
He said, “In the past, senators defected
but they did not take the presiding officer to court. The senators
who are defecting had first gone to court against the presiding officer.
“And of course, if you go to court that
means that we have to suspend what we are doing pending the resolution
of the matter in court.
“So, it was in the attempt for us to seek a political solution to this matter that we had these fruitful discussions.”
Abaribe also said that both the Senate president and the defecting senators agreed that further consultations be made.
He said that further discussions on the issue had been reserved till Tuesday next week.
Abaribe said, “A lawmaker cannot be a
lawbreaker. You cannot go to court and not want to wait to get the
ruling of that court. Every Nigerian should know that.”
On why the aggrieved senators and
members of the opposition stormed out of the session, Abaribe said,
“They are merely exercising their freedom of expression and freedom to
meet with each other.”
But he appeared to have contradicted
himself when he added that what journalists saw was just senators
exchanging banter after the session.
He said, “There is a tradition that we
shake hands when we are leaving. Whatever noise you hear at the end of
the session is merely senators greeting each other and catching up with
past gists pending when we go to our various committee rooms for the
consideration of the 2014 budget.
“So, what you saw was chairmen calling their members to come for meetings.”
But the Senate Minority Leader, Senator George Akume, disagreed with him on what was discussed during the session.
Akume claimed that what was agreed
upon was that a political and not legal solution to the defection
of the 11 senators should be sought ahead of next Tuesday’s plenary.
He said, “It is open knowledge that 11 senators from the PDP have indicated their interest to defect from the party to the APC.
“They are adequately covered by some
provisions of the constitution and of course, the issue of defection is
not new. It has happened before in the two chambers of the National
Assembly and when we met today (Wednesday) to deliberate on this
particular issue, we said okay, Senate President look at a political
solution. Nobody talked about legal opinion on this matter.
“We are going to reconvene on Tuesday
to continue on this issue and I want to believe strongly that by
Tuesday, this matter will be laid to rest in the interest of the country
and for sanctity and integrity of the Senate.”
