PDP Ward Congress: Senators down tools
ABUJA—THE crisis between the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and senators elected on the platform of the party, over last Saturday’s ward congresses deepened, yesterday, as the senators refused to deliberate on issues on the Order Paper.
The PDP-controlled Senate had abruptly adjourned plenary last Tuesday following protests by the senators over alleged conspiracy of the Presidency, leadership of the party and the governors to shut out senators in the just-concluded ward congresses of the party and deny them tickets in next year’s elections.
The senators’ decision to boycott their legislative duties, yesterday, was in furtherance of their resolve last Tuesday to frustrate the PDP-led government and give solidarity to the Speaker of House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal over plot by the party to start process for his impeachment.
At the commencement of yesterday’s session which did not last more than 15 minutes, Senate President, David Mark made a remark on the looming crisis in the House of Representatives after the votes and proceedings of the previous legislative day were adopted. Senator Mark in his brief remarks said that as Chairman of the National Assembly, he would do everything humanly possible to protect and defend the legislature.
The Senate
Presiding over the plenary, Senator Mark in his reference to the Speaker’s defection and the dust it had generated said: “I am going to do all I can to resolve the current impasse.”
He further said that though it was not part of the policy to interfere in the internal affairs of each chamber, “however, as Chairman of the National Assembly, I cannot fold my arms or pretend that all is well about the current crisis. The matter is already in a court of law, we cannot therefore discuss the issues here. I want to assure all of you that I will do the needful to protect and defend the legislature at all cost.”
But immediately after his one-minute remarks on the crisis in the House of Representatives, the Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba moved motion for adjournment and the motion was seconded by the Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Ahmad Sani (Yerima) of the APC, though, in the voice vote, the APC senators’ voices saying nay were louder, but they were overruled as usual.
PDP Senators made themselves slaves to the executive— Ojudu
Reacting to abrupt adjournment of the senate, Senator Babafemi Ojudu representing Ekiti Central on the platform of APC, lamented that there were no standards in the Senate and that the opposition senators were at the mercy of the ruling party which was the reason they were forced to adjourn abruptly.
Senator Ojudu said as spokesman of the opposition APC in the senate, he advised the PDP senators to stop crying foul because they (PDP senators) had made themselves slaves before the Presidency and the party and should learn how to remain so.
He said: “If we have our way, we in APC, will come here tomorrow and sit. It should not be about personal interest but about the future of this country. It should be about our people. Now they have seen injustice, they are fighting.
“We saw injustice more than three and a half years ago, we wanted to fight, they didn’t allow us to fight, why must it be that it is when it affects us (senators) that we act? People should have standards. They have now seen that most of them are no longer welcome back in their homes, they have seen that they have made themselves slaves to the executive, and when you make yourself a slave, they will treat you like a slave, and now they have treated them like slaves. That is the consequence of that.”
He said that the opposition political parties opposed the adjournment by chorusing nay, but the Senate President ruled in favour of the ruling party’s adjournment call.
He said: “We were voted in by Nigerians, we are working for Nigerians, but because they have problems with their party, with the President and with their governors, we are not allowed to work. We don’t want it to be said that we, APC members don’t want to work. We want to work but the system does not allow us to work. The rules as practiced by the majority, do not allow us to work.
“It is unfortunate, we are the minority, we will have our say and they will have their way. We are going to call a meeting of our caucus and we are going to discuss this. We had even expected that they will call an executive meeting where we would discuss this matter, before they just came in and adjourned like that. Some of us came from our constituencies, far away places so that we could sit for this week, but we are here, we are not allowed to sit. Suddenly, conservatives of yesterday have turned to today’s radicals.”
Door open for experienced senators — APC
An APC Senator who pleaded that his name should not be mentioned, said that what was happening in the PDP was what he described as self-destruction. He said: “You can see from the name ‘People Destroying People’.
The senator who was a member of the PDP before joining the opposition said that the ruling party has senators who were experienced that could help build the democracy, but instead of using them for the good of the country, the party wanted to go for green horns, thereby throwing experience to the dust for the personal interest of the governors.
He added: “The senators played into their hands by playing the roles of houseboys instead of doing the legislative role they were elected for. They have been busy trying to satisfy the presidency. If we do the right thing, the issue of short-changing people will not arise.
“This is an advantage to the APC as the door remains open for the experienced and qualified senators who can be useful to the building of our nascent democracy and improving legislation.”
Explaining why the senate should adjourn abruptly in two days, the Senate Leader, Senator Ndoma-Egba said that meeting of the PDP caucus within two days was an indication that all was not well with the democracy.
He said: “Now, for us to have caucus meetings so frequently, suggests that there are fundamental issues. Indeed, I can confirm that there are fundamental issues affecting our democracy arising from the just concluded ward congresses across the states. Issues that are fundamental need to be addressed in the interest of our democracy.”
We’ll frustrate PDP — Senator
A highly ranked PDP senator had told journalists on condition of anonymity that with the alleged conspiracy to deny senators tickets in the 2015 elections, they were going to frustrate the PDP-led government
The senator also promised that the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, MTEF and FSP which was before the Red Chamber would not be considered for approval.
The spokesperson for the aggrieved senators had said: “We are going to show solidarity with the Speaker of House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal. We will not sit again. There will be no consideration of the MTEF (Medium Term Expenditure Framework) and there will be no budget.
“We decided to adjourn and do no business and the APC senators are in solidarity with us. President Goodluck Jonathan has lost the Senate, he has left the PDP structures in the hands of the governors, let the governors also do our job. We are going to shut the government.
“You can see that before sitting we had a meeting. Either they give us back what they gave to the governors or PDP will lose the Senate. All the things we have been doing to protect this government, we are not going to do them again.
“When we don’t approve the MTEF and the budget, then, the international community will know that nothing is working in this country. PDP is finished,” the senator stated.
Another senator also lamented that even before the ward congresses, for about three months, no allowances had been given to them, which he claimed it was deliberate by the executive to starve them of funds for the ongoing congresses.
He said, “Under this arrangement, if left unchallenged, none of the senators would come back in 2015. We are planning to boycott legislative businesses until further notice.
The aggrieved senators it was have embarked on intensive lobby for their own automatic tickets as was given to the governors and had directed the Senate President, Senator David Mark to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan and the leadership of the PDP on the grievances of the members.
However, it was gathered that the leadership of the PDP was worried over the looming crisis in the party and had in a way to pacify the senators fixed a meeting for yesterday to find a way of calming the frayed nerves.
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