The Senators representing Bauchi Central and Kwara South respectively, Isa Misau and Rafiu Ibrahim have warned their counterpart from Katsina South, Abu Ibrahim and other Pro-Buhari senators not to foment any trouble when the Senate resumes on September 25, insisting that Senate President Bukola Saraki will never resign from the position.
The two lawmakers were responding to a remark by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Abu Ibrahim, who boasted that the Senate will not witness peace if Saraki failed to resign from his present position following his defection from APC to PDP.
Since Saraki’s defection on Tuesday, some APC senators loyal to President Muhammadu Buhari including Senate Majority Leader, Ahmad Lawan; his predecessor, Ali Ndume; Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Abdullahi Adamu; his counterpart in Police Affairs, Abu Ibrahim; Ovie Omo-Agege as well as APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole; human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, have called on the Senate President to vacate his position following his defection to PDP.
But in a joint statement signed by Misau and Ibrahim – two Pro-Saraki senators – they warned the APC lawmakers not to try anything illegal even with all the deployment of security forces which they might have been assured of by the executive arm of government.
“It is obvious from the statements of Abu Ibrahim that he and his cohorts are not democrats. They do not believe in the rule of law, the provisions of the constitution, the standing order of the Senate, parliamentary procedure and the due process.
“How will a supposed democrat be threatening disruption of peace in the parliament because his party lost members and lost its majority status? His statements showed why one of them led thugs to disrupt the proceeding of the Senate, steal the mace, the symbol of authority of the legislature, and yet there is no consequence. Both the mastermind and his thugs have been protected from being prosecuted. Now, Abu Ibrahim has given us an insight into what they are planning and we will be ready for them. He has also shown an indication of how he, as the chairman of the Police Affairs Committee, has been misusing the police against other senators,” Misau and Ibrahim who also defected from APC to PDP stated.
While emphasising that the PDP now has the majority of senators with the gale of defections, they threatened to change the Principal Officers to reflect the new composition upon resumption of plenary by September 25, 2018.
The senators also criticised the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for submitting 11 bills to the National Assembly in the last 38 months.
“APC should note that they are now the minority party. PDP has more members. When we resume, if they push us, we will move for a head count of members and change some of our principal officers to reflect party strength. Today, by the list paraded by APC themselves, they have only 48 Senators and PDP has 54, APGA has 2 and ADC has 2. There are two vacancies. That is the distribution in the Senate. Let them continue to deceive themselves.
“We will use our strength to defend the position of the present leadership of the Senate under Dr. Saraki and Senator Ike Ekweremadu. We will defend democracy and rule of law against the pretenders. We will show that every Senator represent different constituencies in our country.
“Our colleague from Katsina State has equally demonstrated that even though he has spent four terms in the legislature, he has not imbibed parliamentary ethos. Even his knowledge of the provisions of the law and the Senate rules is suspect. That is why he misrepresented the provisions of Rule 12 order 1, 2 and 3 of the Senate about the process of reconvening the Senate after it properly adjourned. By the provision, without all the leaders of the four parties initiating the reconvening of the Senate before the adjourned date, nothing can legally happen. Also without the consent of the Senate President, nothing can happen.
“We urge him and his colleagues to know that if they tried anything illegal and indecent, we will resist it through legal means. They saw an instance with the way our colleagues in the House of Representatives quickly gathered to foil their failed coup early this week.
“Abu Ibrahim and his cohorts have shown that they are desperate to win the 2019 elections at all cost by all means. We are surprised that this defection is making APC so uncomfortable that they are ready to bring the country down because some Senators left their party. We gave them all the opportunities to make amends from their destructive, non-inclusive and dictatorial ways. They did not take the chances and were behaving as if nobody matters. They are running a government by cabals, serving selfish interests and forgetting all the promises the party made to the people before being elected into office.
“The APC government has always demonstrated serious contempt for the legislature. That is why they have sent only a paltry 11 executive bills to the National Assembly in 38 months despite their promise of reform in various sectors of the country, The APC government came in 2015 and the first proposal they put forward was to have emergency powers in a democracy. Thank God we did not fall for their antics.
“We call on all Nigerians and the international community to take note of the threat by Abu Ibrahim and know that if there is any illegal move to reconvene the Senate or there is breakdown of law and order in the Senate, the man has leaked their plan. The APC cabal in the Senate should be held responsible. Nigerians and the global community should know the type of people in charge of Nigeria now and how they seek to desecrate and destroy democratic institutions at will”, they added.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
