Senate Suspends Senator Abdullahi Adamu

The Senator representing Nasarawa West Constituency , Senator Abdullahi Adamu has been suspended from his responsibilities as the Northern Senators Forum.
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu who presided announced after close of plenary Tuesday. He is replaced by Senator Aliyu Wamakko.

Details soon.

Senate May Suspend Senator Omo Agege

The senate, yesterday, resolved to probe Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (APC, Delta) over his statement that the reordering of elections sequence was targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari. 

Oma-Agege had shortly after the passage of the amendment to the 2010 Electoral Act, told newsmen that the change in the sequence was targeted at Buhari.

Daily Trust recalls that Omo-Agege, with nine others: Senators Abdullahi Adamu, Malam Ali Wakili, Abu Ibrahim, Abdullahi Gumel, Binta Masi, Yahaya Abdullahi, Andrew Uchendu, Umaru Kurfi and Benjamin Uwajumogu had addressed the press where they expressed reservation over the change of elections sequence. 

During the briefing, Omo-Agege said, “You don’t make a law to target one person. The perception is that the law is targeted at the president. I will continue to protest it. I can tell you it will not become a law,” he said.

During yesterday’s plenary, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the FCT, Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi), raised a point of order demanding that Oma-Agege be probed.

Recall that it was Melaye that raised the point of order that led to the suspension of Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno) for six months in March last year. Ndume’s “offence” was his statement on Melaye and the Senate President, Bukola Saraki. 

Melaye said, “President Muhammadu Buhari is not only my party man; he is a president we all laboured to vote for. My colleague, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, addressed the media last week. He said the decision taken by this senate was targeted at President Buhari. 

“I cannot be part of any group of persons to move against the president; the allegations are weighty. I followed President Buhari to 35 states of the federation during the campaigns. 

“When I was following the president round the country, Omo-Agege was in the Labour Party (LP). To now allege and put the integrity of the senate under check that the amendment was tailored towards the president is unheard of; it is in bad taste,” he said.

“I want to ask that the statement made by Omo-Agege, among other statements, be investigated by the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions. They need to find out if our actions were targeted at the president, he added.”

The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary, referred the matter to the ethics committee, saying they should bring their report within two weeks. 

Senators Angry Over Demolition of Colleague's House by Gov El'Rufai

SENATORS were angry yesterday over the demolition of a house belonging to the Senator representing Kaduna North, Suleiman Hunkuyi, by the state government.

Senator Shehu Sani told his colleagues that Governor Nasir El-Rufai allegedly led a team of soldiers and policemen to 11, Sambo Road, Kaduna to demolish a house belonging to Hunkuyi.

Sani noted that it had become obvious that members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State “cannot accommodate somebody who has the tendencies of Adolf Hitler, Mobutu Sese Seko and Nebuchadnezzar.”

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided, said that Sani’s report was not open to debate.

Ekweremadu said, “This is not open to debate. We need to condemn this action. I send my sympathies to Hukunyi. This democracy has no place for tyranny and impunity. If we decide to go on the road of democracy, we must accept some of the things that come with it. One is the rule of law. If we have any grievances, we should use the courts.

“This is why some Nigerians are opposed to the issue of immunity for public office holders. I think that this is something we need to watch. As we approach 2019 general elections, we must appeal to politicians not to overheat the polity and imperil our democracy. I hope this should be the last. Our courts can be trusted to deliver justice. We hope this will not happen again.”

Sani told the Senate: “I stand to formally report something. As early as 4am on Tuesday, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State led a team of soldiers and policemen to Number 11, Sambo Road in the state. He supervised the demolition of our new APC office. The said property belongs to Senator Suleiman Hukunyi (Kaduna North).

“This is coming one year after the same governor demolished a house belonging to the vice chairman of APC in North West, Abdulkadir. This is a series of brigandage and tyranny carried out by the governor against opposition voices.

“Governor El-Rufai is an affliction on the Kaduna State. He is a curse to us. We want to call on Buhari to caution his son. If this crisis is not nipped in the bud, it will grow into something bigger. We in Kaduna State cannot accommodate somebody who has the tendencies of Adolf Hitler, Mobutu Sese Seko and Nebuchadnezzar.”

Speaking to reporters in Abuja, Sen. Hunkuyi described the demolition as “bizarre, rare and unimaginable decisions”.

“My property, which doubles as the state APC office in Kaduna is part of my contribution to the party; the structure of leadership of the party has been brought down.

“This action was carried out with his supervision. I have no case, I have forgiven him as a person. I am not joining issues with him, and he is my brother.

“There are concurrent issues that go with his act. What will he be doing at the site at that time of the day?

“To me, if the intention is to shut Hunkuyi down, it has given me more reason to believe and stand strongly with majority of the electorate. This should not have happened but it has happened. Let that be an incident for growth of democracy in my constituency.

“Should I bear the consequences of bringing him to leadership? Is it too much price to pay? People like that have no business in executive position.”