Yussuff Lasun, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives on Tuesday denied knowledge of the agenda behind the untoward security siege laid on the National Assembly by operatives of State Security Service (SSS).
Lasun who was at the National Assembly for an emergency meeting called at the instance of the Senate President Bukola Saraki to deliberate on the request from the Presidency to reconvene plenary, expressed disgust over the prevailing crisis.
The Osun lawmakers who condemned the development, noted that the removal of any presiding officer in the National Assembly is cumbersome and requires two-third majority of all the members.
“I wouldn’t know the agenda, but with the situation on ground now, you all know that a meeting never be peacefully held in a situation like this.”
In response to the question on the promoter of the invasion, Lasun said: “You know who caused it. The next step is that we will all be watching. I’m not aware of that, I’m an APC member. I’m not aware of the plot to impeach the Senate President.
“Don’t forget that it is difficult to impeach a presiding officer of the National Assembly because no matter the method you are going to use, you need the two-third majority. And not two-third of the sitting members, you need the two-third of the totality of members of the legislature before you can impeach anybody,” Lasun told Legislative Correspondents.
On the scheduled meeting which was called off due to the invasion of the National Assembly, Lasun said: “We suppose to meet by 12 o’clock this afternoon but the meeting was called by the Senate President and are being streamed on television stations but the meeting has been called off now.
“Until I reached here this afternoon I didn’t know there are other issues. I came specifically because the leadership of the National Assembly suppose the hold that meeting.”
According to the Deputy Speaker, the notice of the meeting was sent “through text message. We were called through text message yesterday. Although I was later my attention was drawn to the fact that the message is being streamed by some stations.
“But I received a text yesterday from the Senate President that there’s going to be a meeting today by 12 o’clock at the National Assembly in his office.
Whike responding to questions on those behind the invasion of the National Assembly, Lasun said: “I can’t just explain that people should realise the fact that what defines democracy is the legislative arm of government. Once the legislative power is being trampled upon, and it’s about to go into extinct, then there’s a problem.
“I didn’t know that there’s an issue here until I got here and before I left home the security details said that people were not allowed to drive in, but I said no. If they deny the Deputy Speaker of Nigeria the right to drive into the National Assembly then there’s a problem.
“But when I got here I drove in and I saw a lot of security agents and I don’t just like it,” he retorted.
The Deputy Speaker however confirmed that he has reported the current situation of things to the Senate President, Deputy Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“Of course I have spoken with everyone of them. Don’t forget there are four presiding officers, I am one of them and I have communicated with them. That was just what I just said, that a meeting that was scheduled for 12 this afternoon has just been called off.”
While responding to the presence of some of the lawmakers who lay siege at the major entrance led leading to the Senate Chamber, Lasun said: “that’s the way they feel they can defend democracy. I don’t react more than that. There’s nothing negative about it because there can never be a National Assembly if there are no legislators.”
On the request from the Presidency calling on the National Assembly to reconvene, Lasun said: “of course, everybody read it on the pages of the newspapers. But don’t forget that this is our normal time for annual recess. And so we have not done anything unusual.”
Some of the lawmakers who reacted to the development, who blamed the PDP members of engaging in cheap blackmail, arguer that such campaign will not work.
They observed that the request from the President was properly communicated to members.
According to one of the APC lawmakers, “impeach is not to be discussed at market square. Why is it that is only PDP members? The whole thing is appalling. This PDP issue, we must put big it in the front burner. If we continue like this it is the people who will suffer. We should not heat up the system because Senator defected and officially presented his resignation.”
