CHUKWU DAVID takes a look at the major events that took place in the Senate last week, especially the comic altercation between Senators Kabir Marafa and Ali Wakili; the Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s purported takeover of the seat of the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu
After a long delay, occasioned by the leadership crisis that has rocked the Senate for five months, the Upper Chamber finally set up its standing committees to undertake the bulk of its legislative responsibilities as stipulated both in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the Senate Standing Orders 2015 (as amended).
When the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, unveiled 65 standing committees, their chairmen and vice chairmen, on Wednesday, November 4, some dissenting voices immediately followed the exercise. Some members of the Senate Unity Forum (SUF), the anti-Ssaraki senators, condemned and rejected the procedure adopted by the Senate President in creating the 65 committees.
Spokesman of the SUF, Senator Kabir Marafa, noted that Order 97 of the Senate Standing Orders specified that only 57 committees shall be constituted but that the Saraki-led leadership created additional eight committees without recourse to the provisions of the Senate rule book.
Also, the Secretary of the SUF, Senator Sulaiman Hunkuyi (APC, Kaduna North), supported Marafa in opposing the new committees. The two lawmakers were, however, the only senators that openly objected to the constitution of the committees, and proclaimed them unconstitutional, null and void.
The rest of the members of the SUF kept silent on the issue. Incidentally, Marafa’s continued opposition to the committees’ creation had started irritating most lawmakers, including the members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Some of them felt that the Zamfara-born politician was taking the matter too far by raising the issue on the floor of the Senate even two weeks after the committees were announced.
Accordingly, a mild drama ensued at the National Assembly last week Tuesday between Sena-tors Marafa and Ali Wakili (APC, Bauchi) when the duo engaged in war of words over the former’s persistent antagonistic posture towards the President of the Senate, about the composition of the standing committees. The two colleagues almost engaged in a fistcuff, as they held each other’s clothes, while journalists and legislative aides watched the comic scenery at the Senate Press Centre.
The drama started when Marafa attempted to disrupt plenary during the debate on the report of the Senate Ad hoc Committee on the Legislative Agenda of the Eight Senate. When he was recognised to contribute to the debate by Saraki, Marafa instead, raised a point of order, saying that it was illegal for the President of the Senate to proceed with the adoption of the agenda, when the issue of composition of Senate Standing Committees had not been totally resolved. Saraki, however, ruled him out of order, on the grounds that the Senate had already adopted the votes and proceedings of the previous day, which contained the announcement of the committees.
Marafa vs Wakili
The ruling provoked Marafa and he immediately walked out of the chamber and made his way to the Senate Press Centre, with a view to addressing journalists on the development. He was, however, accompanied by Wakili, who tried to dissuade him from addressing the press. A heated argument ensued between them, which lasted for about four minutes.
While Wakili drew his attention to the fact that his regular disruptive tendencies at plenary were bringing the Upper Chamber to disrepute, Marafa would not listen to his colleague, as he insisted that he had the backing of his constituents to do what he was doing.
Marafa told Wakili that he was only playing to the gallery because he was made chairman of a committee as a new lawmaker. The altercation between the two parliamentarians went thus: Wakili: You have come here to disgrace the Senate again. Is this what you want to do for the next four years? Marafa:
I will, because I am not working for you. Wakili: You cannot sit down there and fight against the Senate. Marafa: I am representing Nigeria and my people. And let me tell you, even the nonsense thing they are saying about suspension, nobody can suspend a senator. Wakili: You are playing to the gallery. You are playing your script.
Who has ever spoken about your suspension? Marafa: Let us talk about issues. Wakili: I have discussed all this your issues in today’s Mirror. Marafa: Mirror, which kain Mirror? Let us do it (address journalists). Wakili: Newspaper. Marafa: You, my own? Wakili: Yes. Marafa: Ku samun Mirror (get me National Mirror).
I will respond to it. We raised issues. And we give orders and point of constitution. Wakili: That is not what your constituency sent you here to do. Marafa: Are you one of them? Wakili: We are talking of poverty, education. You are wasting your energy here on useless Point of Order. I am warning you. Marafa: It is not useless.
You can’t say that order is useless. Wakili: I will go to your constituency and see what you have done there. Marafa: Go. I will go to your own. I was in politics before you when you were wearing uniform (both senators start dragging each other’s attire). Wakili: Gentlemen of the press, there are issues bedevilling this country….
(Marafa interrupts him). Marafa: Even if you are Godfearing, because they made you chairman, a bloody newcomer chairman of a committee, that is why you are talking this way. I am not anybody’s game plan. I am speaking the minds of Nigerians. Wakili: Come, you are a storm in the Senate teacup and a gadfly.
Marafa: I told you I was in politics when you were wearing uniform (dragging Wakili’s attire). Wakili: Leave me, look at it. That is not the issue. How old are you? Marafa: It doesn’t matter. Wakili: Let’s go. Marafa: (talking to journalists). He said he raised issues in National Mirror.
Let him say the issues, I will respond to them, here. Wakili: You see, your experience has not helped you. It (Senate Rule) says that where such a matter has been decided, you cannot raise it again. Marafa: That is nonsense! That is hypocrisy. The problem with the Senate President is that he is unwilling to learn his job.
In the four years he stayed there, he was absent most of the time. Wakili: You are too personal. And this is not going to help you. At the end of the verbal war, the two politicians walked out of the Press Centre and went to their offices while plenary was still going on.
Tinubu on Ekweremadu’s seat
The Senate also witnessed an-other minor drama last Wednesday, as the wife of the former Governor of Lagos State, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, occupied the official seat of the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu. Ekweremadu, who reportedly escaped assassination attempt, on Monday last week was said to be out of Abuja on official assignment.
This created the opportunity for the ranking Senator, who was recently appointed Chairperson, Senate Committee on Women Affairs, to sit on Ekweremadu’s seat at plenary. Tinubu’s refusal to vacate the seat even when aggrieved Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators asked her to do so almost triggered an uproar in the Chamber.
The lawmaker, who had earlier in the Seventh Senate indicated interest to become a Deputy Senate President, sat on Ekweremadu’s seat for about one hour, intermittently discussing with the Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume. When the President of the Senate called her to second the motion on the consideration of the report of the Senate Ad hoc Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, for the approval of the sum of $200 million loan for Lagos State from the World Bank, she wanted to use Ekweremadu’s microphone but the PDP senators shouted on her not to use it. She then left the seat, went to another seat to use the microphone as she claimed that her own was not functional at that moment.
When she was done with seconding the motion, she returned to Ekweremadu’s seat and continued to whisper to the Senate Leader. However, Saraki, who presided over the session, did not say anything about the situation as senators regarded the episode as a joke. Instead, Saraki was seen beaming smiles while the drama lasted.
Saraki reads riot act to senators
At the inauguration of the standing committees last week Wednesday, the Senate President issued a stern warning that the Upper Chamber would not hesitate to deal with any senator found wanting in the discharge of committee responsibilities. Saraki, who sounded bossy, made the threat while inaugurating seven out of the 65 standing committees.
The committees inaugurated and their chairmen were: Appropriation – Danjuma Goje (APC, Gombe Central), Finance – John Enoh (PDP, Rivers Central), Banking, Insurance and other financial institutions – Rafiu Ibrahim (APC, Kwara North), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) – Abubakar Kyari (APC, Borno North).
Others included: Committees on Public Accounts – Andy Uba (PDP, Anambra South), National Security and Intelligence – Sha’aba Lafiagi (APC, Kwara North), Communications – Gilbert Nnaji (PDP, Enugu East). Saraki implored the committees to live up to their constitu-tional responsibilities, particularly with respect to their oversight functions, stressing the need to reposition the economy.
He urged them to be innovative in the discharge of their oversight functions, in order to do things differently, saying that the current administration had resolved to bring change to governance, so as to achieve positive results for the benefits of the people. He also tasked them on observing ethical standards in the discharge of their duties, warning that any committee member found wanting would be adequately dealt with. “Senate will continue to support the committees particularly in terms of funding. We are also assuring government institutions of readiness to work with them in order to deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians,” he said.
Saraki further said the Ad hoc Committee on Legislative Agenda would be charged with the responsibility of monitoring the performance of the committees. He, therefore, charged the different standing committees to be productive and deliver good governance to the people. “INEC committee should ensure that the gains of democracy are not eroded.
They must ensure that there is improvement in our elections moving forward. “For the Finance Committee, Nigerians are expecting us to lead the fight against financial recklessness and block leakages. “The Committee on Security should ensure that security agents were adequately catered for to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated,” he said.
How Akume persuaded SUF to accept committees
On Thursday, November 19, the leadership crisis rocking the Senate in the past five months appeared to have subsided, as major antagonists of Saraki’s emergence as the President of the Senate, accepted their chairmanship of Senate standing committees. Senators Ahmad Lawan (APC, Yobe North) and George Akume (APC, Benue North West), who aspired to be President and Deputy President of the Senate, respectively, had rejected Saraki’s emergence to the exalted seat, and vowed not to recognise his leadership. New Telegraph was reliably informed that about 16 members of the SUF converged at the office of the Chairman of the Forum, Senator Barnabas Gemade, to resolve on whether or not to accept committee chairmanship given to them.
The source, which pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that Senator Marafa had pressurised the members of the Forum not to accept the committee appointments. The source further revealed that Akume persuaded the sanators on the need not to place parochial interest above national interest, by fighting Saraki and the Senate leadership. According to the source, Akume took time to convince them that they were elected first of all to serve the people, and not to hold leadership positions in the Senate.
Akume was also quoted as saying that dragging the matter too far by the Forum would amount to being childish about the course they fought for and lost, and warned them that the electorate would see them as selfish individuals, who were merely fighting for their own interest rather than the interest of Nigerians.
It was after the dialogue, which lasted for more than one hour that they were all convinced, and agreed to forget the past, accept their committee appointments and then work in harmony with the leadership of the Senate in order to help move the country forward. When approached for their comments after the inauguration, Lawan and Akume refused to speak to journalists. Lawan simply said: “You know I don’t talk to the press these days. I am on sabbatical.”
Senator Abu Ibrahim, who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, on his part, said that he did not come to the Senate to fight for position but to serve the masses who gave him their mandate to represent them in the Senate.
With this latest development, the expectation is that the Senate, particularly Saraki and the leadership crew, will begin to enjoy some reprieve from the instability and antagonism posed to the Upper Chamber by the members of SUF.