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Saraki won’t kowtow, refuses to read Oyegun’s letter
A letter by the APC national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun to the leadership of the Senate recommending certain senators for the position of principal officers in the upper chamber, on Wednesday sparked another row among senators.
Sen. Gbenga Ashafa (APC-Lagos East), who relied on Order 15 of the Senate Standing Order, urged that the President of the Senate should read the letter on the floor of the Red Chamber.
But Sen. Ibn Na’Allah (APC-Kebbi South) immediately countered the point of order and explained that the nomination should be made `from’ the party not made `by’ the party.
The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, who presided over plenary, ruled Sen. Ashafa out of order and declined to read the said letter.
He said: “I have listened to Senators Ashafa and Na’Allah. Going by the rules and what has been said earlier, I think I will just note what Senator Ashafa has said.
Another attempt was made by Sen. Kabir Marafa (APC-Zamfara Central) to question the June 9 election of Saraki and Ekweremadu, but that too was ruled out of order by the President of the Senate.
Marafa, relying on Order 110 and 3 (e) (i), of the Senate Standing Order, sought to know which of the Order Books (2011 or 2015) was being used to coordinate the activities of the 8th Senate.
He described the 2011 Senate Standing Order as ‘genuine and authentic’ thereby countering the authenticity of the Senate Standing Order 2015.
“Which of the Order Books are we going to use to coordinate the activities of this Senate?’’ he asked.
Marafa insisted that there was a conflict in the two books as to the procedure that should be taken for election of presiding officers of the senate.
Proffering explanation, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekwerenmadu, said that from 1999 till date, the Senate had come with its own rules.
The President of the Senate thereafter ruled Sen. Marafa out of order.
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