The
House of Representatives on Wednesday endorsed a resolution to take
over the functions of the cisis -ridden Rivers State House of
Assembly.
At its plenary presided over by Deputy
Speaker Emeka Ihedioha, members agreed that the crisis in the
Assembly had led to a breakdown of law and order, making it impossible
for the Assembly to perform its legislative duties.
But the situation was different in the
Senate where an uproar erupted as members took different positions on
the ideal approach to adopt in tackling the crisis.
The decision by the House however
followed a motion by Mr. Albert Sam-Tsokwa (Taraba State), who relied
on Section 11 (4) of the 1999 Constitution in presenting his motion.
The section states, “At any time when
any House of Assembly of a state is unable to perform its functions by
reason of the situation prevailing in the state, the National Assembly
may make such laws for the peace, order and good government of that
state with respect to matters on which a House of Assembly may make laws
as may appear to the National Assembly to be necessary or expedient
until such time as the House of Assembly is able to resume its
functions; and any such laws enacted by the National Assembly pursuant
to this section shall have effect as if they were laws enacted by the
House of Assembly of the state.”
However, the resolution requires the concurrence of the Senate to have the force of law.
Sam-Tsokwa’s original motion sought to “condemn” the crisis and the alleged backing of the State Police Command.
Sam-Sokwa called on the IG, to beef up
security in the Assembly to enable the lawmakers to carry out their
constitutional duties.
But, members amended the motion by seeking to invoke Section 11(4) of the Constitution and directing the IG to redeploy Mbu.
The amendments proposed by a member from Benue State, Mr. Emmanuel Jime,were approved in a majority voice vote at the session.
• Rivers lawmakers shouted down
However, rowdiness preceded the House’ decision when a member from Rivers State, Mr. Kingsley Chinda, sought to stop it.
Chinda had moved to halt Sam-Tsokwa’s motion midway by advising the House not to take “rash decisions” on the matter.
He recalled that a committee of the
House set up to investigate the crisis was already working and that
there was no need to jump the gun.
But, he was cut short with shouts of “no”, “no”, “no”; “sit down”, “shut up.”
Chinda’s point of order was overruled by Ihedioha, as angry members pointed fingers at him.
In all, 18 members spoke in support of the motion, especially Jime’s amendments.
Only two members, Chinda, and a former Attorney-General of Rivers State, Mr. Ken Chikere, opposed the motion.
A member from Kano State, Mr. Aminu Suleiman, described the Rivers’ CP as “a threat to democracy.”
• Senate divided on solution, CP’s fate
In the Senate, members were in
agreement in condemning the fracas that occurred at the Assembly on
Tuesday but there was intense disagreement on actions to be taken
against the state Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu.
The Senate had scheduled to resume the
debate on the report of the Review of the 1999 Constitution which began
on Tuesday, but went into a closed door session early on Wednesday where
the Rivers crisis was the only agenda.
After one and half hours of
deliberations, it resumed plenary, with Senator Magnus Abe from Rivers
South-East, briefing his colleagues on the happenings in the state.
He came under Order 43 on Matters of Personal Explanation to do so.
The Senate then proposed five
resolutions depicting its stand on the crisis, which is to condemn the
crisis; send its committee to investigate the matter and report back;
urge the warring parties to maintain the peace; restate its commitment
to the Constitution; and urge the Inspector- General of Police,
Mohammed Abubakar, to address the sour relationship between Governor
Rotimi Amaechi and Mba.
President of the Senate, David Mark,
said, “Clearly what is happening in Rivers State is an embarrassment to
legislators in this country. It is in the interest of state Houses of
Assembly not to do anything that will portray legislators as
irresponsible because that is not what we are.
“Clearly what is happening is totally
unacceptable and must be condemned in strongest possible terms and in
its entirety irrespective of who is directly involved or who is behind
it.”
Mark also said that it was proper that
the Senate took steps to ensure that the Assembly was restored to
normalcy so that it could continue its legislative activities.
He noted that the Senate would send its
committee on States and Local Governments to investigate the matter and
bring back the facts so that the Senate would operate on facts and not
hearsay.
Mark observed that the relationship between Amaechi and Mba was not good and called on the IG to do something about it.
Following the remarks by Mark, the
Leader of the Senate, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, read out the Senate’s
resolution on the matter.
The Senate then resolved to condemn in
strong terms the crisis in the Assembly which it said portended danger
to democracy. It also resolved to send its committee to investigate the
matter and bring back a report in one week.
It reechoed the opinion of Mark, that
all parties to the crisis should maintain the peace until the Senate
conclude its investigations, just as it vowed to uphold the provisions
of the Constitution at all times.
But the fifth resolution, which urged
Abubakar to take “immediate steps to address the broken relationship
between the governor and the Commissioner of Police ,” sparked
discordant tunes.
Majority of the Senators were largely in
favour of a resolution that would call for the removal or redeployment
of Mbu, arguing that the resolution as put forth by the Leader of the
Senate was too weak.
The first voice vote showed a total
rejection of the resolution; but Mark decided to put it again after
trying to convince Senators that calling for the removal of the Police
Commissioner was the duty of the President.
When the voice vote came the second time
and it appeared that the “nays” had it but Mark withheld ruling, a
rowdy session ensued. The proceedings were consequently held up for
about 15 minutes.
When normalcy returned,Mark stressed
that the Constitution had placed certain responsibility on the IG, which
should not be usurped by the Senate.
On that note, he slightly amended the resolution and read it out himself for a final voice vote.
But the voice vote also suggested that the “nays” had it but Mark ruled that the “yes” had it.
• Senator protests, weeps
When tension began to rise again,
Senator Babajide Omoworare called for a division, relying on Order 73,
which gives a senator the right to contest the ruling of the presiding
officer during a voice vote.
Mark acceded and after another voice
vote was taken he ruled against the “nays”, again. Omoworare
challenged the ruling and a division was consequently called.
After the voting, Mark read out the result as “nays” 47 and “yeas” 50.”
Then there was sudden outburst of
protest from senators, particularly from the opposition, alleging that
the result was manipulated.
While the noise was going on, Omoworare
burst into tears. He removed his cap and wiped his tears with his palms
as he protested the result of the division.
Mark, who was obviously disgusted by the
protest, noted that senators should maintain decorum and allow the
democratic process to prevail.
He said, “If you have any other result,
that cannot be valid, this is the authentic result. You must keep to
yourselves because we subjected ourselves to this one now. You cannot
bring another figure here now, it is not valid. You can go to tribunal,
and I am that tribunal.”
Abe had informed the Senators that the
state Assembly had not sat since May 6 when the Rivers State Police
Command withdrew its men from the Assembly.
Abe said, “However, about 63 days that
the Assembly could not sit, its members received a communication from
the Governor that he wanted to come and make some amendments to the
2013 budget and the Assembly wrote to the Police and decided to
reconvene after not sitting for 63 days.
“We all know that from our Constitution,
two thirds of the members are required to impeach a Speaker or a
governor. This incident as disturbing as it is, has ramifications beyond
the House of Assembly. As we speak, the incident has continued to
generate tension in the state.”
• Amachree, Bipi welcome Reps decision
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Assembly,
Otelemaba Amachree, and Leader of the anti-Ameachi lawmakers, Evans
Bipi, have described the move by the National Assembly to take over
the affairs of the Assembly as a welcome development.
Amachree explained that it would pave the way for the lawmakers to stabilise democracy in the state.
“The move by the the National
Assembly to take over the House of Assembly is a welcome development.
Every discerning mind will notice that the five lawmakers acted without
considering the futility of their action.
“It (House of Representatives decision)
is very well in order. Without security, the State House of Assembly
will not be able to sit and it is good that they decided to get into the
mix of the issue and help to stabilise it,” Amachree said.
Similarly, Bipi explained that the intervention of the National Assembly would help to strengthen democracy in the state.
He however said he would seek advice from his lawyers to know the next line of action to take.
“I am not opposed to their (National
Assembly) decision because it will help to strengthen democracy in the
state. But I will consult my lawyers,” he added.
• Rivers PDP kicks
But the Peoples Democratic Party in
Rivers State has condemned the decision of the House to take over the
affairs of the Assembly.
The State Chairman of the PDP, Mr. Felix Obuah, said the move did not reflect the total view of the people of the state.
It said, “Rivers PDP condemns the action
of the House of Representatives in its totality. The Federal lawmakers
should not take over the functions of the members of the Rivers House of
Assembly.”
It said, “Rivers PDP condemns the action
of the House of Representatives in its totality. The Federal lawmakers
should not take over the functions of the members of the Rivers House of
Assembly.”
PUNCH
No comments:
Post a Comment