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It was a half empty Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo presided over yesterday as most key ministers are out of the country on official assignment. President Muhammadu Buhari, who usually presides over the meeting is on a two-week official trip to the UK. At the meeting were only 18 Ministers out of 36 that usually attend.
Most of the key Ministers, including those of Finance, Industries, Trade and Investments, Foreign Affairs, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Budget and National Planning were not present at the meeting as they were said to be on assignment outside the country.
Also absent at the meeting were Minister of Defence, Chief of Staff to the President, National Security Adviser, amongst other top government appointees.
The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed spent just few minutes and left for other assignments, shortly after the opening prayers.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation was expected to brief on the activities of his office at the ongoing meeting, even as the Comptroller General of Immigration, Muhammed Babandede and the Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Boboye Oyeyemi were amongst those expected to brief FEC on their agencies’ activities.
The official excuse for the absence of the Ministers is that they are at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting currently going on in the United Kingdom with President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun is currently attending the World Bank/ International Monetary Fund, ( IMF) meeting in Washington DC
The Vice President presides over the Federal Executive Council meeting in the absence of the President. The Federal Executive Council is empowered by the Constitution to formulate policies that determines the general direction of the country
Section 148, Sub section (2) of the Constitution as amended states that
” The President shall hold regular meetings with the Vice-President and all the Ministers of the Government of the Federation for the purposes of, (a) determining the general direction of domestic and foreign policies of the Government of the Federation;, (b) co-ordinating the activities of the President, the Vice-President and the Ministers of the Government of the Federation in the discharge of their executive responsibilities; and( c) advising the President generally in discharge of his executive functions other than those functions with respect to which he is required by this Constitution to seek the advice or act on the recommendation of any other person or body.
However, the FEC meeting still held despite the low attendance. At the end of the meeting FEC approved N33 billion for the construction of the Bida-Lapai-Lambata road. This is just as it also approved N6b for procurement of aviation equipment.
Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Mustapha Baba Shauri while briefing State House Correspondents after the meeting, described the Bida-Lapai-Lambata road as a very important link between the South West and Northern part of the country.
Also Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, also announced FEC’s approval of purchase of aviation equipment at the cost of N6b
Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Danbazzau also announced that President Muhammadu Buhari will later this month host a regional summit of countries within the Economic Community of west African States, ( ECOWAS), on how to check farmers/ herdsmen clashes.
Dabazzau also dismissed reported threats by Shiites to attack Abuja and its environs saying that the threats was unfounded and baseless
While a half empty FEC meeting was going on, the ‘hallowed’ chambers of the Senate got invaded by ‘thugs’ allegedly led by suspended All Progressives Congress (APC) senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District, Ovie Omo-Agege.
The drama started at 11:19am, when thugs suspected to be loyalists of Omo-Agege invaded the hallowed chambers of the Senate, disrupted plenary and stole the mace.
Mace is the symbol of authority of the legislature.
The thugs numbering three barged their way through the door of the chamber, overpowered the security agents including sergeant-at-arms, carted away the mace, ran into a waiting jeep and zoomed off.
Incidentally, the National Assembly has two main security gates and three other gates all manned by security men. The place where the incident occurred is about 500 metres away from the Presidential Villa. Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu was presiding at the time the incident happened.
Senate President Bukola Saraki is currently in the United States attending the World Bank/IMF Spring Meeting.
The thugs forced their way to the chamber with the suspended senator and asked the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker to take his seat.
However, at 12:10pm, the Senate resumed plenary after embarking on closed-door session with a ‘spare’ mace in the chamber, even as the embattled senator, Omo-Agege was still seated in the chambers.
He was flanked by two other APC senators, Nelson Effiong and Tayo Alasoadura. Other senators including Ben Uwajumogu, Andrew Uchendu went to the embattled lawmaker to exchange banters.
In his remarks, Ekweremadu said the Senate would not be intimidated, insisting that it would exhaust all items on the Order Paper.
At 12:34pm, members of the House of Representatives paid a solidarity visit to the Senate chambers and held a joint session. They were led by Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yusuff Lasun.
In his remarks, Ekweremadu said the thugs invaded the chamber unhindered, injured some sergeant-at-arms and almost kidnapped two senators.
He gave the Inspector General of Police, Idris Kpotum Ibrahim and Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawan Daura, to retrieve the stolen mace within 24 hours, a position echoed by Lasun.
He said: “Some armed thugs passed through the entrance and the gate and left the National Assembly with the mace. They attempted kidnapping two of our senators. They were eventually left but we decided that we will not be intimidated by the circumstance. We will stand by our democracy. We will defend our democracy.
“It is an affront on the Senate. It is an affront on democracy, it is an affront on the National Assembly. It is an affront on the parliament but we are going to stand together to ensure that we continue with the assignment Nigerians gave us to represent them.
“We are going to get to the rot of this matter and I believe that I speak the mind of all of you here if I say that security agencies must recover our mace within 24 hours. We are giving the Inspector General of Police and the Department of State Security(DSS) 24 hours to recover our mace.
“Let me thank the Deputy Speaker and our colleagues from the a House of Representatives. We want to assure you that we refuse to be intimidated. We are going to carry out our assignment fully.
“We have decided to go through everything on our Order Paper for today even if it takes us till 6 O,clock today. We will conclude everything here because that is what we are been paid to do”.
Policemen later arrested Ovie Omo-Agege. He was arrested at the Senate lobby immediately after he emerged from the chambers of the Senate on Wednesday.
Initially, two policemen laid siege for the lawmaker immediately he emerged from the chamber, led him few meters away from the hallowed chamber before other policemen dragged him to a waiting vehicle.
Tony Aileman and Owede Agbajileke, Abuja
