The Senate has summoned the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to justify the basis for the forgery charges preferred against the Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy Ike Ekweremadu.
This comes as a summon of an Abuja High Court mandating the presiding officers of the Senate and two others to appear before it has been pasted at the premises of the National Assembly in Abuja.
Specifically, the Attorney General is to appear before the Senate within the next 48 hours.
He is to appear before the David Umaru-led Senate Committee on Judiciary, Legal Matters and Human Rights to justify with evidence the basis for his action and why it does not constitute gross misconduct, incompetence, contempt of court and abuse of office.
This followed a motion of urgent national importance, moved by Dino Melaye on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday.
Frowning at what it called ‘attempt to strangulate the Legislature’, the upper chamber said it won’t be teleguided by the Executive arm of government.
It kicked against what it termed culture of impunity by the Executive, lamenting that this is a time to salvage the economy from the brink of collapse.
Controversy has continued to trail the 2015 Senate Standing Orders, with allegations that the Senate Rule, upon which Saraki and Ekweremadu were elected on June 9, 2015 was forged.
However, the Senate dismissed the claims, insisting that it is the authentic rule of the apex legislative body.
The summoning of Malami followed a closed door session, which lasted for about two hours.
Melaye argued that if the Senate Rule is fake, then the passage of the 2016 budget, screening of ministerial nominees and service chiefs as well as bosses of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) are also fake.
According to him: “The Senate is disturbed that instead of amplying itself to the myriads of problems confronting the nation including the escalating cost of living, upsurge environment extremism, worsening insecurity, rising ethnic divisions, sky rocketing unemployment, declining national productivity and a nose diving economy into recession, the Executive continues to be hellbent on chasing rats while the Federation burns.
“Disturbed by all this problems, what is paramount concern of the executive is to neutralize the independence of the parliament and create effigies of fear to shut down the demands for accountability by whipping up sentiments trying to create crimes where non exist and divert attention.
“This very noble and organised Senate observed that this present state of affairs represent the greatest threat to our corporate existence and the greatest rape of our constitution the basis upon which we exercise power.
“This Senate notes with regrets the deviant act of the Attorney General of the Federation and his office of contentiously disregarding the binding decision of the federal high court without a pending appeal by the police and the Attorney General on the same matter in which the federal high court had decided to file charges against the leadership of the National Assembly is a gross violation of the Attorney General official calling and attempt to overthrow the legislative arm of government and force autocracy on our body quality”.
Other senators who spoke in the same vein include: Chukwuka Utazi, Albert Bassey, Samuel Anyanwu, Ibrahim Gobir and Isah Missau.
Meanwhile, the court summons of an Abuja High Court, Jabi which asked the Senate President to appear before it was pasted at the notice board of the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The court papers, with Charge No, CV/219/16 asked the quartet of the immediate past Clerk of the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa; deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, Benedict Efeturi, Saraki and Ekweremadu to appear as Defendants, with the Federal Government of Nigeria as Applicants.
