It’s a nullity, says caucus
Adedayo Akinwale and Udora Orizu in Abuja
Members of the House of Representatives from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday in the absence of their opposition counterparts, passed the controversial three per cent equity shares for the oil producing communities in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
Recall that lawmakers from the Niger Delta region protested the percentage, insisting on five per cent for host communities, which led to its postponement on Thursday.
At the yesterday special session, the APC lawmakers suddenly moved the motion after the opposition lawmakers staged a walkout to brief the press on their disagreement with the non-inclusion of the electronic transmission of election results in the electoral amendment bill. Speaking on the issue before the report was laid by the Committee Chairman, the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila who explained that the House had suspended the laying of the report; so that the chairman of the PIB ad-hoc committee could go back and meet the Senate committee and let them review the position on the three per cent equity, regrets that by the time they got to the Senate, the committee had already made a decision and nothing else could have been done.
The Speaker while saying that the PIB would not suffer the same fate it had been suffering for the past 20 years assured that if there was any need in future, they could amend whatever there was to amend.
Gbajabiamila said, “Before he lays, I will like to lay the background for this laying of the PIB so that we will all be on the same page and understand what has happened; so that this House would not be accused of doing anything outside our rules. Thursday, there was an issue on PIB and in the wisdom of the leadership, suspended the laying of the report; asked the chairman to go back and meet the Senate committee and let them go and review the position. Unfortunately, by the time they got to the Senate committee, the Senate had already made a decision; they had already laid the report and adopted it.
“There is nothing else we could have done. Our House Rule now says that is what we have to look at. When they have agreed, which they have and there is nobody to talk to anymore, we have to come back and lay our own report, and the House will determine whether we are adopting or agreeing to that report. Otherwise, PIB will be handing inordinately.”
As the House dissolved into Committee of the Whole, after the report was laid by the chairman, Hon. Tahir Monguno, the Deputy Chief Whip, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha raised a point of order, suggesting that it’s better they stand by that submission of Mr. Speaker to revisit five per cent for host communities on PIB.
Her words, “I know that the majority will have their way and the minority will continue to have their say. I am standing there this afternoon to beg this Committee (of the Whole) not because Nigeria will not move forward but because as a parliament, if you look at your back, we have ‘Nation Building: A Joint Task.’ What it simply means is that this green chamber is the only institution I know that unites Nigeria; that is the place that all of us agree that we are brothers and sisters irrespective of political and ethnic divides.
“Thursday when we walked in, there was contention on the issue of PIB and the leadership (of the House), with the able leadership of Mr. Speaker, advised that the Chairman of PIB should go back to the Senate and let them revisit the issue of five per cent for host community, which was agreed by the parliament – the 360 of us. And when they came back, they came with the submission of three per cent and it was stepped down and that it should go back to the Senate. I believe that from yesterday to this morning, because we left here late, the Chief Whip would not have done enough work, to do consultations.”
However the Deputy Speaker and the Chairman committee of the whole, Hon. Idris Wase, dismissed her suggestion, saying that they were guided by the rules of the House.
Wase said, “Please take your seat. Before your point of order, I wanted to say we are guided by our rules and the Speaker has aptly captured it. It is in the wisdom of the Speaker in trying to bring peace that he asked for this to be stepped down, otherwise, by our rules; it was not supposed to be so. All efforts have been made so that we would be able to resolve the matter. And what I expected you (Onyejeocha) as a leader, to say please, rules are meant to be obeyed. If efforts have been made democratically to resolve the matter and we are unable to do that, it not now in our own purview. We don’t argue, we only adopt. We move for adoption.”
Reacting to the news while still briefing journalists, the leader of the Caucus, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu said the passage was a nullity, as it was not listed in the order paper according to the rules of the House.
Elumelu said, “On the issue of PIB the House could not come to conclusion whether it’s three per cent or five per cent as a matter of fact the Speaker ruled Thursday directing the conference committee to go back and review it and ensure that they stand by the House position and the House position is five per cent. Now we are hearing, even when it’s not in the order paper, that they want to smuggle it in and passed it. This is the unfortunate situation that we have found ourselves, it has never been this bad. For us whatever they are doing there is a nullity and when we return back we will continue our agitation and ensure that the right thing is done.”
