Did you know that American House Speaker Paul Ryan, second in line to the presidency of the United States, sleeps in his office?
Before he was elected speaker, Paul was a Congressman representing a congressional District in Wisconsin.
In all those years that he has served in Washington, he’s been sleeping on an an Air Mattress in his office floor since his wife and kids are back in Wisconsin. Paul says that he can only sleep on a bed if his wife is sleeping on it or rent an apartment if his wife and kids are living in it.
When he was elected House Speaker, a position that comes with a Mansion, he chose not to live in it since his wife and kids did not want to move to D.C. But it’s not just Paul Ryan who sleeps in his office in D.C.
Out of the 435 American legislators (Congressmen and Senators) serving their constituents in Washington, 50 of them shower, eat, and sleep in their offices.
In an Interview with the AFP News Agency, Congressman Tim Walberg from Michigan said that he’s been sleeping on his office floor since he was elected in 2007. Why? He says it’s a good way to save money since house rents in Washington are ridiculously high.
He also had this to say: “I am not a king, a prince, or a Lord. The people who sent me here (Congress) are the people I serve. And I don’t ever want to get to a point where I believe that because I’m here, I’m better than them.”
Now, 200 legislators also share apartments. You got it right.
Three to Five Senators can come together, rent one apartment, share the costs, and live together. They can also buy one car and use it to drive together to work. Yes, these are Senators and Congressmen from the largest economy in the world sleeping in their offices, sharing apartments, and cars.
In America, only the Speakers of both Houses and Senior Congressional Leadership have personal security.
In Nigeria every MP’s first priority is a big car, a house, a personal bodyguard.
Even local assembly men/women are referred to as Honourable. Refuse to address him/her as such ,hell will break lose.
They live in mansion and own not less than 2 cars and you wonder why we are as we are as a dysfunctional country?
What the people of Nigeria need is a referendum to end this evil contraption called Nigeria and an emergence of the stifled nations within.
We CAN NOT be silent about it. He that is silent in the days of the adversity of the oppressed, is more guilty and has taken the side of the oppressor.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has budgeted a whopping sum of six billion naira to feed the officers of Nigerian Police that will participate in the 2019 general elections.
This was contained in the budget the commission presented to the House of Representatives.
The Chairman of the commission, Prof Mahmud Yakubu is currently facing questions from the members of House committee on INEC who are racing eyebrows on the sum.
Few days ago,REC ,INEC,in Anambra state told us that he had to pay a police officer to escort him around on the day of election.
The present structure of Nigeria is a time bomb.It is wickedness against humanity to retain the present structure of Nigeria.
Online Media Practitioners Association of Nigeria is shocked at the arrest of Samuel Ogundipe of PremiumTimes, and condemns strongly, his continued detention by the Nigerian police for refusing to give up his sources.
OMPAN joins other well meaning local and international organization to call for his immediate and unconditional release as well as unfreezing of his account.
OMPAN wonders why only Samuel Ogundipe was singled out for this unlawful, evil and undemocratic arrest when so many online and print media houses carried the story in question.
It is very strange that in a country that claims to be practicing democracy, a member of the fourth realm can be arrested and detained by the police without provocation.
OMPAN wants to stress that Mr Samuel Ogundipe was well within his rights to report the said letter and should not be held responsible for the inability of the Nigerian Police to manage its confidentiality or put a tight lid on all the sensitive documents it wants to keep away from the public.
The fact that Mr Samuel Ogundipe was exercising his constitutionally protected right as a journalist can never be overemphasized and not even the Nigerian police has the power to take that away from him.
OMPAN notes with chagrin that Nigeria is fast becoming a Banana republic because of the high handedness of the police and other security agencies and this is not acceptable in a democratic dispensation.
OMPAN wants to state very clearly that Nigerians can no longer tolerate this Military Junta style that the police is adopting to silence reporters and starting with the immediate and unconditional release of Samuel Ogundipe, the police must desist from further embarrassing Nigeria in the eye of the international community.
The Nigerian police has already inflicted a great deal of pain on innocent and law abiding Nigerians already and this must stop!
OMPAN recalls how SARS officers arrested, molested and compelled its members in Owerri to pay a huge bribe before matching them to an ATM to withdraw the bribe money or risk being implicated to a crime. But for the resourcefulness of the Journalists in procuring incontrovertible pictorial evidence of that event, they probably would have been held in similar fashion as Samuel Ogundipe.
This is unacceptable. The police must as a matter urgency retrace its footsteps and toe the path of civility and service to humanity as is commensurate with their profession the world over.
OURMUMUDONDO MOVEMENT DEMANDS IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF DETAINED PREMIUM TIMES JOURNALIST OGUNDIPE*
The OurMumuDonDo Movement wishes to express its outright disapproval of the current onslaught on press freedom in Nigeria by the Nigerian Police Force.
We are extremely concerned that the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Kpotum Idris, the vanguard man of the Nigerian Police Force, would openly flout the law of the land by unlawfully detaining Mr. Samuel Ogundipe of Premium Times Newspaper for refusing to disclose the source of his story. This arrest is an open affront on Chapter IV, S. 39 (1) of CFRN 1999 as amended, which guarantees the freedom of expression of Nigerian citizens and the freedom of the press in Nigeria.
We must emphasize that this arrest by the Nigerian Police Force is an unacceptable attempt to intimidate, muzzle, and devitalize our press. The press is a crucial institution of our democracy, and fearless journalists like Mr. Ogundipe should be encouraged and not intimidated by coercion.
Again, we would like to advise the IGP that the Nigerian people are watching and taking records of how events are unfolding in the country, and they are seeing how the IGP is obstinately frustrating our democracy with the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigerian Police Force which the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has ordered its overhaul.
We would like to believe that the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Idris, would not want to be seen by the Nigerian people as an enemy of democracy and progressive reforms. It is in light of this, therefore, that we strongly demand the immediate release of Mr. Ogundipe of Premium Times Newspaper.
On a final note, we would like to state categorically that, we will not hesitate to mobilize Nigerians of conscience to the headquarters of the Nigerian Police Force in Abuja tomorrow, August 16, 2018, if, by the end of today, August 15, 2018, Mr. Samuel Ogundipe of Premium Times is not released unconditionally.
The United States Embassy has suspended consular services and appointments in its Abuja office till further notice.
The embassy explained that appointments for visa and for American citizen services have also been put on hold for the time being.
It, however, said that Consular operations in Lagos would not be affected, the mission said in a statement on its website, on Tuesday.
No reason was given for the decision.
The message read, “Until further notice, all consular appointments at the US Embassy in Abuja have temporarily ceased for both visa and for American Citizen Services.
“Consular functions in US Consulate Lagos are not affected and will continue. Scheduled visa and ACS applicants for Abuja will be contacted for rescheduling.”
The Embassy therefore directed American citizens in the northern part of the country, with emergency services needs, to continue to contact the after-hours emergency number for Abuja at 09461-4000 and press “0” to go to the operator to request assistance.
It said American citizens in the North with urgent travel needs and who are travelling before Tuesday and who are willing to re-schedule their travel through Lagos should contact the ACS office at Consulate Lagos ( 01460 3400 and LagosACS@state.gov) to discuss their options.
The statement continued, “Those travelling after Tuesday should follow up with Abuja ACS to confirm their appointments closer to their appointment date.
“Please monitor the Facebook and Webpage of the US Embassy for a later announcement of resumed consular operations in Abuja,” the mission said.
The Coordinator of OurMumuDondo Movement,Anambra State Chapter has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission for extending Voter Registration till Friday 31st August,2018.Comrade Ndubuisi Anaenugwu calls the people of Anambra State to see the extension as an opportunity to increase the number of registered voters to 3.5 million. He stated further that the Anambra People should use the voter registration to prove to the rest of Nigerians that they are more than the present national population figure credited to the State and that the people of the State have the capacity to chose their political Leaders.
Recall that OurMumuDondo Movement has stormed INEC Offices nationwide demanding that the continuous voter registration be extended to December ,2018.In a letter addressed to Professor Mahmood Yakubu and personally signed by the Leader of the Movement –Charles Oputa (CharleyBoy),the Movement stated that by virtue of Part III,Section 9(5) of Nigeria’s Electoral Act,2010,which states that ‘The registration of Voters, updating and revision of the register of voters under this section shall stop not later than 60 days before any election ’ .Also,Anambra State Chapter of OurmumuDondo Movement led by Comrade Ndubuisi Anaenugwu stormed INEC Office in Awka to register her displeasure and dissatisfaction over the proposed 17th August deadline.
Comrade Anaenugwu and Leaders of the State Chapter of OurMumudondo Movement addressing newsmen at the INEC Office,Awka.
INEC prompt response to the wishes of the people has shown her readiness to serve the general interest of the electorates in line with her mandate of conducting a free, fair and credible election in Nigeria.
The Anambra State Chapter of the Movement has pleaded with the Resident Electoral Commissioner-Dr Nkwachukwu Orji to ensure that the registration processes across the 21 Local Government Area within the next two weeks are seamless without official bottlenecks. The Movement will be at various registration centres in the State to ascertain INEC readiness to live up to the public expectations. Comrade Anaenugwu cautioned that OurMumuDondo Movement in the State will mobilize all the frustrated electorates to demand for further extension should the need arises. Note that OurMumuDondo Movement has launched a mass campaign in Abuja-NaWeBeGovernment to return political power to the people. Call 08036247812 to join the movement.
The registration will be concluded at the end of August.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise by two weeks.
ourmumudondo MOVEMENT ,ANAMBRA WITH INEC REC
According to information obtained by our reporters on Tuesday, the registration will be concluded at the end of August.
The extension is coming a few days after OurMumuDonDo Movement nationwide including anambra state, and concerned Civil Society Organisations, met with officials of INEC to call for an extension of the deadline to enable more Nigerians participate.
The registration will be concluded at the end of August.
The alleged plot to sack the leadership of the Senate took a legal dimension with a suit by senators Rafiu Adebayo (Kwara South) and Isa Misau (Bauchi Central) against the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Inspector General of Police and the Department State Security (DSS) before a Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday.
The lawmakers in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/ CS/872/2018 have asked the court to restrain them from aiding the forceful removal or impeachment of the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki.
Others listed as defendants are the Senate, the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawal (Senate Leader), Senator Bala Ibn Nallah (Deputy Senate Leader), Senator Emma Buacha (Deputy Minority Leader), Clerk of the Senate, Deputy Clerk of the Senate, the Attorney General of the Federation, Inspector General of Police and the Department State Service.
The suit, was brought pursuant to Order 26 Rules 1, 2, and 7(1) of Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009, and Section 6(6)(8)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
In a motion on notice filed by Mahmoud Magaji, the plaintiffs are praying for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the 4th to 11th defendants, jointly and severally either by themselves, their agents, servants or privies, assigns however so called from unlawfully removing the 2nd defendant as the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The plaintiffs are also seeking for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the 9th to 10th defendants from unlawfully interfering with the lawful legislative duties of the 2nd defendant as the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, until the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
“An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the 10th to 11th defendants from harassing, hounding intimidating, arresting or detaining the 2nd defendant in respect of the lawful exercise of his duties pursuant to Section 50(1)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as attended), until the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
More so, the plaintiffs want the court to make an order directing the parties in the suit to maintain status quo pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
In the substantive suit, the plaintiffs want the court to determine among others: “Whether in view of the provisions of Section 50(1) (a) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the I999, the President of the Senate who defected to another party as a result of division in his former party, can be made to vacate his office other than in accordance with the provisions of Section 50(2) of the Constitution?
“Whether by a combined reading of Section 50(1)(a) and (2) of the Constitution and Order 3 Rule 8 of the Senate Standing Orders, 2015 (as amended), the President of the Senate can be compelled to vacate his office on the ground that he is not a member of the party with majority ot senators in the Senate?
“Whether by a combined reading of Section 50(2) (a) of the Constitution and Order 3, Rule 8 of the Senate Standing Orders, 2015 (as amended) the President of the Senate can be said to have vacated his office by virtue of Section 50(2)(a) of the Constitution when he has not ceased to be a member of the Senate?
“Whether the President of the Senate can be said to have vacated his office as President at the Senate by virtue of Section 50(2)(b) of the Constitution when the 8th Senate of which he is the President has not been dissolved?
Upon the determination of the questions, the plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the President of the Senate cannot be made to vacate his office other than in accordance with the provisions of Section 50(2) of the Constitution.
“A declaration that Saraki cannot be compelled to vacate his office on the ground that he is not a member of the party with majority of Senators in the Senate.
RESOLUTIONS OF A 3-DAY EMERGENCY CONCLAVE OF THE LEADERSHIPS OF MAJOR IGBO ORGANIZATIONS HELD AUGUST 10-12, 2018 IN ENUGU UNDER THE AUSPICES OF ND’IGBO CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY
Preamble
(i) In view of the gathering storms over Nigeria, reminiscent of the circumstances that precipitated the catastrophes of 1966-1970;
(ii) Concerned about the degenerating situation of Nd’Igbo in Nigeria, a body of Igbo elders convened an Emergency Retreat of the Leaderships of key Igbo Organizations at home and abroad under the aegis of ND’IGBO CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY to undertake a comprehensive appraisal of the state of the Igbo in the distressed Nigerian union with a view to distilling self-preservation options available to Nd’Igbo;
(iii) Cognizant of the sudden 1966 abrogation of the 1959 Lancaster House agreement – which formed the basis upon which the Federating Regions ceded aspects of their sovereignty to create the Federation called Nigeria resulting in the sudden demise of the Union;
(iiii) Noting the foisting upon us of a false, fictitious, bogus and unacceptable Union sustained through the barrel of the gun and legitimized by a series of imposed Constitutional instruments including the 1979 Constitution and its 1999 reincarnation which were basically an aggregation of the Military Decrees made between the 1966 and 1999 interregnum;
(v) Bearing in mind that these Military Decrees, consolidated as Decree 24 of 1999 (the Constitution), imposed on us a unitary system that foists on us an inverted Federation in which the Center own and control all our major economic assets and the right to work those assets; a quota system that subjugates knowledge to ignorance, all legitimized by the egregious falsehood that “We, the People …” enacted our damnation; thus usurping the sovereignty of the People;
(vi) Aggrieved that this litany of woes were further compounded by the unilateral secession of twelve Northern States which simultaneously imposed Sharia in their contiguous territory thereby unilaterally breaking the secularity of the Union as agreed by all the Constituent Regions while Federating into Independence in 1960 as One Political Union;
(vii) Noting the Country-wide bloc by bloc repudiation of the imposed unitarist Constitutional Order, it becomes clear that the People have revoked those aspects of their sovereignty ceded to the Federation and demands the full restoration of their sovereign rights.
In response to all the above, various Igbo organizations articulated what, in their wisdom, represents the best approach by Nd’Igbo towards self-redemption. Other groups, particularly the pro-independence ones, embarked on more radical agitations towards achieving the same end. In seeking to distil common grounds among the various groups, streamline their prescriptions and arrive at a consensus that will frame a viable response mechanism, this Emergency 3-Day Consultative Meeting involving the leaderships of major Igbo organizations, home and abroad.
The New Igbo Nation City
The Conclave carefully examined the Public Communications Documents issued by various Igbo organizations and reproduce the following central positions of the major ones.
Ohanaeze’s position as encapsulated in the Ekwueme Square Declaration of May 21, 2018 at p.2 is states thus:
“We demand a Constitutional Conference, backed by a Law enacted by the National Assembly, where the People of Nigeria will agree on a new, truly federal Constitution. a Constituent Assembly should be constituted to agree on a new Constitution for a New Nigeria. Such a Constitution – the people’s Constitution – should be approved by the people of Nigeria through a Referendum to give it legitimacy and validity. Thereafter, the National Assembly should repeal Act 24 of 1999 thereby effectively voiding the 1999 Constitution.”
The Alaigbo Development Foundation, ADF, seeks restructuring within the principle of self-determination of Autonomous Region of ethnic nationalities in present Nigeria. ADF states emphatically that Alaigbo will seek outright exit from the Federation of Nigeria if renegotiation along these lines is not forthcoming. ADF’s position is encapsulated in a memorandum titled “THE FUTURE OF ALAIGBO & THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA” dated December 21, 2017 which at p.47 posits:
“A. Alaigbo to exist as an Autonomous Region with all the rights of Self-determination and Self-governance in a new political union with their neighbours in Nigeria, or
The City of Enugu with Autonomous Region
B. to opt out of Nigeria and establish an Independent Republic.”
A wing of the pro-independence groups frame their agitation as “Biafra Restoration” (IPOB) and “Biafra Actualization” (MASSOB), both seek immediate secession from the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
There is also the Self-Determination campaign by the Lower Niger Congress, LNC, for the Greater Eastern Nigeria, framed as a Constitutional Reconfiguration of the Nigerian Union that will include a Self-Determination Referendum, with an outreach to the non-Caliphate rest of Nigeria, seeking a consensus around the outright rejection of the fraudulent 1999 Constitution as the basis of Nigeria.
After a thorough review of these different positions being advanced by various Igbo Organizations, the Conclave recognizes the two dominant tendencies in Igboland in response to the current Igbo situation in Nigeria, namely:
a. Regional Autonomy (variously defined) within the Federation of Nigeria, and
b. Outright Independence for the Territory.
This necessitates the institution of a mechanism to determine the true wishes of the majority of the People.
It is noted that the two Groups are agreed on the abrogation of the imposed, fraudulent 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The two Groups are also agreed that no further National Elections anchored on the 1999 Constitution should take place.
ACCORDINGLY, THE CONCLAVE RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
1. Given the fact that after more than 50 years of disputes, (since 1967) including a 30-month Genocidal War against the East, the Constitutional Arrangements for Nigeria has remained unresolved, the Conclave recommends that the well-known Constitutional Grievances of Nd’Igbo should now be referred to a General REFERENDUM of the People.
2. Guided by the sad experiences of the monumental Constitutional Disputations in the First Republic between 1962-1965 which birthed the 1966 Military intervention in Nigeria’s Political Arena and the resultant collapse of the Nigerian Federation, the Conclave recommends the deferment of further National Elections in 2019 that will be premised upon the rejected 1999 Constitution and in place of Elections, the initiation of an orderly transition process that will take the entrapped Nationalities from the present precarious reality of imposition, to a stable negotiated future.
3. To preserve Societal Order during the period required to execute the winding up of the rejected Constitutional Order to the institution of the successor Constitutional Arrangements, the Conclave proposes the emplacement of a Transitioning Mechanism that maintains Nominal Governance.
DATED THIS 12TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2018
SIGNED
1. Aka-Ikenga.
2. Coalition of Pro-Biafran Groups
3. Forum for Promotion of National Ethos and Values (FPNEV)
Excerpts of an address by national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, ADAMS OSHIOMHOLE, at a press conference in Abuja last week
Basically, to respond to some of the issues raised by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, at the press conference he addressed two days ago. It is important we addressed some of the issues he canvassed so that the public is not misled into turning villains to heroes and twisting the facts that are really no secret to the Nigerian public. But it is important that we help the public to refresh their memories and arrive at their own individual judgement.
First, the Senate President raised the issue of the fact that he has always acted not on the basis of his own personal interest; that he has always acted on the basis of national interest. The truth is it is doubtful if the Senate President has ever acted either in the national interest or in the interest of his own political party before his defection recently.
Without going back to ancient history, suffice to start by looking at how, in the first instance, Senator Bukola Saraki became the President of the Senate. He decided, clearly against the party’s position, to enter into a deal with the opposition PDP and got a faction of the PDP and taking advantage of the provisions in the Constitution to side with him while the majority of the APC senators were having a meeting at the International Conference Centre in order to resolve the issue of leadership of the Senate and other principal officers of the Senate that are expected to be produced by the ruling party with majority senators in the Senate. Because he had put his personal interest over and above the interest of the party, when he went into alliance with the PDP and he conceded the position of Deputy Senate President to the opposition in order to obtain the support of the opposition for him, Senator Saraki, to become the Senate President.
So, for the first time in our democratic history in Nigeria, we had a situation, which, whereas the APC has the majority in the Senate, the Senate went on to elect a PDP person as Deputy Senate President. This action alone portrays Senator Saraki for who he is; his personal interest comes before any other interest, including the national interest, including the interest of his political party. Having gone into this unholy alliance with the opposition and mortgaged the right of the ruling party, he proceeded to appoint opposition senators to head strategic committees whose activities can affect, either for good or for bad, the workings of the government and relationship between the government and the legislature. Senator Saraki did that in order to continue to protect himself against the wish of his party as Senate President. Again, that shows that the only thing that was always constant in the mind of Senator Saraki was how to cling on to power even if it means at the expense of his party or even of the country, and I will speak to that.
You do not need to be a political activist or a partisan politician to appreciate that, in an election year, every government around the world will do everything possible to ensure that it is seen to be working for the people of the country. So, like any other, the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigerians expected that it will do everything possible this year to make up for lost time in terms of budget implementation and addressing critical infrastructures without which sustainable development is impossible.
The Senate under Saraki chose instead to delay the budget up to the end of the first half of the year, to coincide with the period of the rainy season such that those aspect of infrastructure such as roads, for example, cannot really be constructed during rainy season. These were not errors of the head on the part of Senator Saraki’s leadership. They were clearly designed to frustrate the capacity of President Buhari’s government to address physical infrastructural deficit without which the ordinary man in the street cannot feel the impact of governance. Again, I want to plead that I am not about to reveal anything. On receipt of the budget by Mr. President, after going through it, Mr. President cried out that the budget that was handed over to him by the National Assembly under the leadership of the Senate President was a clear distortion of the well-thought-out budget proposal that was submitted to the National Assembly. Whereas Mr. President appreciates that the National Assembly could make some alterations in the budget, he did not expect that the budget would be completely rewritten and so grossly distorted as to make far more provisions for recurrent expenditure such that there is very little left for capital projects without which the Nigerian people cannot benefit from governance. And the President said this budget would be difficult to implement. You have all heard the stories of budget padding and no budget padding, but on this occasion I would rather not delve into those.
So, when I say that the Senate President has never put Nigeria first, I support this statement by the deliberate delay of the budget and the deliberate manipulation of provisions in the budget in a way that it would compromise the commitment of the government to address critical infrastructure. It is by now not a secret that as, Senate President, he conspired with others to try to create a sense of division within the ruling party, having failed to truncate the convention, where they assembled a couple of people who were neither delegates nor contestants for any of the offices at the convention to purport
to have formed a political party. There is nothing for me to add to the illegality of this action and the false foundation that the Senate President tried to lay. However, upon his illegal defection, which he had to do hurriedly, because the number of senators who he was playing on their fears that they would not be able to return to the Senate or that if they return they would be heading to prison if President Buhari is relected. So, he had a situation whereby about 36 senators, who were on his list to defect, but consequent upon our election and our assumption of office, we took pre-emptive steps to reassure those senators. Many of you would not have witnessed the fact that the first meeting we had, a day after the convention, Sunday, June 24, 2018, the first person we met was Senator Bukola Saraki, to try to listen to whatever his grievances were and this I did in company of the Vice President. At least, he was able to confess to that, when I tried to listen to negotiable or verifiable grievances. But, however, his real grievances are not negotiable. Which is about ambition, about values, and conflicting values of him as a person and the values of the APC. However, when he defected, however illegal his action was, he went to Ilorin to tell Ilorin people part of the truth, when he said, among other things, that he was leaving for two major reasons. Number one was that he alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari gave out over 200 juicy jobs without allocating some juicy jobs to him. And, he chose to speak for the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, that even Dogara also was not given juicy positions. Again, I would have thought that not being a union leader, it is not for him to speak for the Speaker. The Speaker is well capable of speaking for himself. That is aside the key issue, which was that he lamented that he was not given a share of the so-called 200 juicy positions. I asked, giving Senator Bukola Saraki, Senate President, juicy position, does that coincide with Nigeria’s public interest? Does that coincide with the interest of the people of Kwara State or the interest of the people of Senator Saraki’s senatorial district? At no time did he refer to the interest of his own constituency or the interest of Nigerians. The second reason he gave was that he was being persecuted. Again, even that, the alleged persecution of his person, not persecution of his people. Again, he never pretended that any of these actions have to do with the good people of Nigeria, they have to do with his person, to the extent that he alleged personal persecution of his person, not that of Kwara State people, or the people of his constituency or Nigerians. But, I think the Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, was more explicit in corroborating Senator Saraki’s claim, when he said he, as a governor, and Senator Saraki as Senate President, were being linked to armed robbery cases as part of their reason for defecting. Again, nothing to do with the Nigerian project, nothing to do with Kwara State people. However, what is the truth, as he linked the Senate President to armed robbery? Was it the Federal Government or arrested armed robbers? It was armed robbers who were arrested that alleged that the weapons with which they carried out their heinous crime, including the killing of about 35 indigenes of Kwara State, somewhere in Offa, that those weapons were procured for them. They made that allegation according to police report, which is now known everywhere, so it is not a secret to be declassified.
In support of my thesis that the Senate President has never acted with the Nigerian national interest in view, my final submission is the way in which he adjourned the Senate about two weeks ago. The Senate calendar is not a secret to the presiding officer of the Senate. The Senate calendar that was known was that the Senate was going to adjourn on a Thursday. By Tuesday morning or Monday night, Senator Saraki used his guest house, wrote out names of senators with provisions meant for signatories, for senators to decamp to the PDP from the APC. Happily, some of the senators present refused to sign. And that was what frustrated his calculation that by the time he was done, he was going to turn APC into a minority party in the Senate. For careful observers, is it a coincidence that as the Senate President was reading defections, his counterpart in the House of Representatives was also simultaneously reading the names of those who defected. So, there was a coordination for defection day. But happily, the pre-emptive steps we have taken to address those with genuine grievances frustrated their number such that from 36, he could not get more than 14 senators to decamp. This was on a Tuesday, the calendar of the Senate stated that they were going to adjourn on a Thursday. So, between Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the Senate was expected, like I confirmed from the Senate Leader, to look into the supplementary budget for INEC. What INEC requirement are not equipment you buy from the shelf. You must order them and make allowance for the manufacturers to produce them. You don’t buy them the way you buy a pack of cigarettes from the shelf. So, time is of the essence.
However, the Senate under Saraki’s directive adjourned without considering the matter that was before it, including the budget for INEC. Now, if Senator Saraki adjourned the Senate ahead of schedule to resume towards the end of party nominations, can that act be said to coincide with the national interest? If you decide to frustrate the INEC by denying it the funding that it requires, can you be said to be a defender of democracy? If INEC don’t get their funds and, therefore, are unable to conduct a credible election, would that not lead to further serious consequences for our democratic process and our democratic environment?
He also made unsubstantiated allegation to the effect that the event of last Tuesday, that it was an attempt to carry out an illegal impeachment. How can a presiding office arrive to that conclusion that there was a plan to carry out an illegal impeachment. Until an action takes place how can you determine the status? If the act of impeachment is unlawful then you can probably understand where he is coming from. But, the truth is that it is lawful to impeach any one including the President of the Senate, including the Deputy President of the Senate, if the number required to do so is present. So, he cannot preempt that. As they say, you don’t have to be a pathological liar to understand this general saying that once you start with one lie you would need series of lies to support that one lie. I don’t want to use the word lies to characterise the action or the statements of the Senate President. Let us look at the facts. From their own statement, they said they were aware that the Senate President was illegally going to be impeached and, therefore, they mobilised thugs, their journalists, cameramen and video to the Senate building. They had told the world that they had adjourned till September 25. Meanwhile, about 15 PDP senators were in the Senate and for effect they imported hundreds of thugs that molested one or two of our members that were sighted in the premises. And, in order to expose the lie, I ask you as defenders of democracy, did you find any APC senator in the Senate? So, if APC senators were not in the Senate and it was PDP senators that were in the Senate, what is the basis of the false claim that there was an attempt to carry out an illegal impeachment?
If he does not resign as Senate President, he will be impeached according to law, not by thuggery or anything that is undemocratic. He cannot sustain a minority rule in the Senate and that is what is hurting him as we speak. They have about 48 senators, we have 53 senators. So, how can 48 senators preside over 53 senators.
Let me conclude by saying that when I say the Senate President will be impeached, he will be impeached according to the law. And, the Constitution is clear on how a presiding officer can be impeached. And, because several impeachments have taken place, both on former Senate Presidents
and former Speakers, we are not about to witness what has never happened before; we have enough precedence to all back on.
I have looked at the Nigerian Constitution. It does not say that an impeachment, once mooted is by itself illegal. Until it is done and you look at how it is done, you cannot arrive at a conclusion whether the process was lawful or unlawful. I think Saraki’s time is over. The way he has manipulated the politics of Kwara State, he fails to understand that the Nigerian national project is far more complicated and it is not at his mercy or the mercy of his own dynasty.
Comrade Anaenugwu and Leaders of the State Chapter of OurMumudondo Movement addressing newsmen at the INEC Office,Awka.
