The allegation of forgery of Senate rules was made in the wake of the election of the two principal officers last year June. A year after, it is yet to abate, as the state finally made a move for prosecution, following the completion of police investigations. As is everything in Nigeria, politics is being deployed to confuse the real issues. Saraki and Sen Ahmed Lawan, both of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), contested for the Senate President post but the contest somewhat led to the polarisation of the party at the upper chamber. Members of the APC particularly resented the election of Ekweremadu of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Deputy Senate President and felt that Saraki, in the pursuit of selfish interest, had compromised the party’s change agenda by offering the opposition a key position in the Senate. Amidst the heat and tension came the allegation that the election was conducted using a falsified rule of the Senate. Senators, opposed to the leadership of Saraki, on July 29, 2015 not only reported the forgery to the police high command, but also filed a suit at Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the nullification of the June 9 proclamation of the 8th Senate carried out by the management of the National Assembly. The group of senators implored the court to declare the proclamation of the 8th Senate as well as the election of its presiding officers as null and void based on the alleged forgery. Sen. Kabiru Marafa (APC-Zamfara West), in one of the sittings of the 8th Senate, raised a point of order that the new Standing Order 2015 (as amended), which was produced and circulated, was never approved by the 7th Senate. He concluded that new Standing Order was a fraudulent document, adding that all the activities conducted by the Senate from June 9, 2015 were, therefore, null and void. . In a swift reaction, Sen. Gilbert Nnaji (PDP-Enugu East) approached a court to stop the police from investigating the alleged forgery of the 2015 Senate Standing Order. Responding to the suit, the former Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, via a counter-affidavit, said that no court of law in the country had the power to stop the police from carrying out its statutory function of investigating crimes.
As regards actual prosecution, Alhaji Farouk Lawan, a former member of the House of Representatives, is currently facing trial for alleged bribery. The current Senate Leader, Sen. Ali Ndume, is also being prosecuted for alleged complicity by holding information about the Boko Haram insurgents. All in all, the analysts contend that pragmatic efforts should be made to resolve the alleged forgery case involving Saraki and Ekweremadu, as part of efforts to protect the sanctity of the Senate and the integrity of the country’s democracy. They insist that regardless of the position of the suspected perpetrators of the wrongdoing, the law should be allowed to fully run its course. (NANFeatures) A News Analysis by Femi Ogunshola, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
SOURCE:VANGUARD NEWS
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As regards actual prosecution, Alhaji Farouk Lawan, a former member of the House of Representatives, is currently facing trial for alleged bribery. The current Senate Leader, Sen. Ali Ndume, is also being prosecuted for alleged complicity by holding information about the Boko Haram insurgents. All in all, the analysts contend that pragmatic efforts should be made to resolve the alleged forgery case involving Saraki and Ekweremadu, as part of efforts to protect the sanctity of the Senate and the integrity of the country’s democracy. They insist that regardless of the position of the suspected perpetrators of the wrongdoing, the law should be allowed to fully run its course. (NANFeatures) A News Analysis by Femi Ogunshola, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
SOURCE:VANGUARD NEWS
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