APC Senate caucus crisis over election timetable deepens

The division in the ranks of the All Progressives Congress
caucus within the Senate deepened on Tuesday. This followed the
Senate’s resolution to query the lawmaker representing the Delta
Central Senatorial District, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, over his
allegation that the general elections timetable revised by the
national Assembly was targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari.

Omo-Agege is one of the 10 aggrieved APC senators that walked
out of the chamber last Wednesday when the Senate passed the
amendment to the Electoral Act 2010.

The adoption of the report by the Senate and House of
Representatives Conference Committee on the amendment to the
Electoral Act had caused a sharp division within the ranks of the
APC caucus.

The conference committee approved a new Section 25 in the
Electoral Act which states that the polls will commence with the
National Assembly election, to be followed by the governorship and
state Houses of Assembly elections, while the presidential poll
will come last.

Trouble started when the senators adopted the report as
presented by the Chairman of the conference committee, who is also
the chairman of the Senate Committee on the Independent National
Electoral Commission, Senator Suleiman Nazif.

The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, had blocked senators
who rose to challenge the adoption, making 10 APC members to storm
out of the chamber to brief journalists on their grievances with
the amendment.

The senators are Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa-West), Abu Ibrahim
(Katsina-North), Abdullahi Gumel (Jigawa-North), Ali Wakili
(Bauchi-South), Binta Masi Garba (Adamawa-North), Ovie Omo-Agege
(Delta-Central), Umar Kurfi (Katsina-Central), Andrew Uchendu
(Rivers-East), Benjamin Uwajumogu (Imo-North), and Abdullahi Yahaya
(Kebbi-North).

“You don’t make a law targeted at one person. The perception out
there is that this Section 25 was included to target Mr.
President,” Omo-Agege stated when the aggrieved senators addressed
journalists.

At the plenary session on Tuesday, Senator Dino Melaye (APC,
Kogi-West), raised a point of order to accuse Omo-Agege of
denigrating the Senate by alleging that the resolution on the
amendment was targeted at Buhari.

He said, “I rise this morning, heavily disturbed that we passed
a resolution in this House last week and the aftermath of the
resolution has a very serious effect on me as a senator of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“President Muhammadu Buhari is not only my partyman, he is a
President we all laboured to install and voted for. My brother and
colleague, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, addressed the media where he
said the decision taken by this Senate was targeted at Mr.
President.

“If decisions in this Senate are now being teleguided and
targeted at individuals, then this is no longer democracy. That
statement to me is weighty. I personally campaigned and followed
the President (as an APC candidate) to 35 states. The only place
that I didn’t follow him to was Yobe, where we did not even go to
throughout the campaign.”

He added, “When I was following the President, campaigning and
working for him to become the President of this country, Ovie
Omo-Agege was labouring in the Labour Party.

“Today, to take the decision by the Senate and the integrity of
the Senate put together (and say) that it was tailored to target a
particular person, it is unheard of, it is in bad taste and I do
not want to be part of that.

“I want to ask that this statement made by Ovie Omo-Agege, among
other statements; that the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and
Public Petitions needs to investigate this matter and find out if,
truly, our decision was made and targeted at Mr. President, among
other issues raised by him.”

The Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided
over the plenary, referred the matter to the committee. He asked
the panel to present its report in two weeks.

The division in the ranks of the All Progressives Congress
caucus within the Senate deepened on Tuesday. This followed the
Senate’s resolution to query the lawmaker representing the Delta
Central Senatorial District, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, over his
allegation that the general elections timetable revised by the
national Assembly was targeted at President Muhammadu
Buhari.

Omo-Agege is one of the 10 aggrieved APC senators that walked
out of the chamber last Wednesday when the Senate passed the
amendment to the Electoral Act 2010.

The adoption of the report by the Senate and House of
Representatives Conference Committee on the amendment to the
Electoral Act had caused a sharp division within the ranks of the
APC caucus.

The conference committee approved a new Section 25 in the
Electoral Act which states that the polls will commence with the
National Assembly election, to be followed by the governorship and
state Houses of Assembly elections, while the presidential poll
will come last.

Trouble started when the senators adopted the report as
presented by the Chairman of the conference committee, who is also
the chairman of the Senate Committee on the Independent National
Electoral Commission, Senator Suleiman Nazif.

The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, had blocked senators
who rose to challenge the adoption, making 10 APC members to storm
out of the chamber to brief journalists on their grievances with
the amendment.

The senators are Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa-West), Abu Ibrahim
(Katsina-North), Abdullahi Gumel (Jigawa-North), Ali Wakili
(Bauchi-South), Binta Masi Garba (Adamawa-North), Ovie Omo-Agege
(Delta-Central), Umar Kurfi (Katsina-Central), Andrew Uchendu
(Rivers-East), Benjamin Uwajumogu (Imo-North), and Abdullahi Yahaya
(Kebbi-North).

“You don’t make a law targeted at one person. The perception out
there is that this Section 25 was included to target Mr.
President,” Omo-Agege stated when the aggrieved senators addressed
journalists.

At the plenary session on Tuesday, Senator Dino Melaye (APC,
Kogi-West), raised a point of order to accuse Omo-Agege of
denigrating the Senate by alleging that the resolution on the
amendment was targeted at Buhari.

He said, “I rise this morning, heavily disturbed that we passed
a resolution in this House last week and the aftermath of the
resolution has a very serious effect on me as a senator of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“President Muhammadu Buhari is not only my partyman, he is a
President we all laboured to install and voted for. My brother and
colleague, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, addressed the media where he
said the decision taken by this Senate was targeted at Mr.
President.

“If decisions in this Senate are now being teleguided and
targeted at individuals, then this is no longer democracy. That
statement to me is weighty. I personally campaigned and followed
the President (as an APC candidate) to 35 states. The only place
that I didn’t follow him to was Yobe, where we did not even go to
throughout the campaign.”

He added, “When I was following the President, campaigning and
working for him to become the President of this country, Ovie
Omo-Agege was labouring in the Labour Party.

“Today, to take the decision by the Senate and the integrity of
the Senate put together (and say) that it was tailored to target a
particular person, it is unheard of, it is in bad taste and I do
not want to be part of that.

“I want to ask that this statement made by Ovie Omo-Agege, among
other statements; that the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and
Public Petitions needs to investigate this matter and find out if,
truly, our decision was made and targeted at Mr. President, among
other issues raised by him.”

The Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided
over the plenary, referred the matter to the committee. He asked
the panel to present its report in two weeks.