Intrigues as PDP Gets Senate’s Minority Leadership Positions

The Senate witnessed a rowdy session last  Tuesday after the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, announced Senators Abba Moro and Osita Ngwu as Senate Minority Leader and Minority Whip respectively. Sunday Aborisade reports.

The seats of the Senate Minority Leader and Minority Whip became vacant after the Court of Appeal sacked the former occupants, Simon Davou Mwadkwon (PDP, Plateau North) and Darlington Nwokocha (LP, Abia Central) respectively.

The appellate court nullified the election of Mwadkwon and ordered a rerun while Nwokocha was removed and Augustine Akobundu of the PDP declared as the authentic winner of the February election in the senatorial district.

During Tuesday’s plenary, Akpabio announced the duo of Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South) as minority leader and Osita Ngwu as the minority whip.

The Senate President said the new minority leaders had the majority support of their colleagues in the opposition parties.

He said 41 minority senators signed the document endorsing Moro as minority leader while 30 backed Ngwu for minority whip seat.

According to Akpabio, “Senator Abba Moro is now the Minority Leader of the Senate and this is the resolution of the minority in favour of Senator Abba Moro, 41 senators signed.

“I also have another document sent by  minority leaders. majority of  them, numbering 30 have also signed nominating Senator Osita Ngwu as the Senate Minority Whip”.

There was however,  a rowdy session after the announcement when members of the Labour Party started calling for “point of order”,.obviously indicating  that the announcement did not go down well with them.

Akpabio yielded the floor to them and Senator Okechukwu Ezea (LP, Enugu North), took the floor.

Raising a point of order, Ezea protested the absence of his party in the minority leadership, describing the arrangement as injustice against other minority parties.

He said, “How can the PDP take three minority leadership seats? This is unfair, unjust and unacceptable.

“At the minority meeting from which we just came out of, Abba Moro was endorsed but the position of minority whip we agreed to schedule another meeting because the leadership has to be shared equitably.

“There is no way we have four leadership seats for minority in this Senate and the PDP will take three of the seats.

“The next Party is Labour Party with seven senators and we get nothing, that is unfair, that is unjust, that is unacceptable and is against the spirit of the Nigerian Constitution.”

Ruling on the point of order, Akpabio said, “That is the PDP, If you were talking about the APC, I am sure they would have been fair and considerate.

“I am in total sympathy with the Labour Party,  I am in total sympathy with the minority party, the Social Democratic Party and others.

“I am relying on the documents in my hands and majority, out of the total majority. So that is PDP for you, so your point of order is noted. The Senate President can only work with the evidence before him.

“The minority has very distinguished Senator (Enyinnaya) Abaribe and very ranking, his name is not here, the former speaker Aminu Tambuwal, his name is not here.

“We have Distinguished Senator Seriake Dickson, and Distinguished Senator Godiya Akwashiki, Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe, a ranking senator his name is not here but taking cognizance of the number of senators in the minority caucus it follows that all you need to produce a leader is majority.

“If you are about 48 or 49 and 30 people have signed what is the magic that you said he should not be announced?

“If you are 49 and 41 persons have signed for Abba Morro what is the reason why you said the senate President should not announce?

“I want you to bear something in mind. In my front I have two papers, majority have signed, some are still signing but not all of you have signed for Abba Moro but he already has the majority.

“It would be unfair for me to ignore the majority signatures and refuse to announce Senator Abba Moro as your minority leader for now.

“At the same time, it would also be unfair for me to see somebody who actually is in the majority, what he actually need is 24 or 25 senators and he has up to 30 and I will not announce him.

“No matter your personal observations, I just want to plead with my colleagues to understand that my job here is not to take individual opinion or to work what some want but to work on the bases of truth.

“So this issue for minority leader or Minority Whip is for now rested until you produce another paper.”

The Senate was thereafter thrown into a rowdy session with Labour Party lawmakers rejecting the exclusion of their party in the minority leadership.

Amid the uproar, Senator Tony Nwoye (LP, Anambra North) accused Akpabio of picking minority leaders for the opposition parties.

He vowed to resist the action and dared Akpabio to suspend him from the red chamber.

“How can you be chosing minority leaders for us? Are we your slaves? Enough of all these things. We will resist it. The worst you can do is to suspend me,” Nwoye tackled the Senate President.

Lawmakers from the ruling party made frantic efforts to pacify their colleagues from LP, some of whom approached Akpabio for consultation.

After about 15 minutes of rowdy session, the Senate President addressed the opposition lawmakers and dismissed the claim of his interfering in the affairs of the opposition.

Akpabio said he only announced the names forwarded to him by the opposition caucus and that it would be unfair not to respect the voice of the majority.

He, therefore, urged the opposition caucus to always put their house in order before forwarding any name to him.

According to him: “All we need to produce a leader is a simple majority. What’s the reason for not agreeing with the position of the majority?

“41 minority senators signed for Abah Moro and 30 signed for Osita Ngwu. They have the majority. It will be unfair for me not to announce them after getting majority of support. My job is not to work with individual opinion but with majority of position.

Efforts by Senator Adamu Aliero (PDP, Kebbi) to convince Akpabio to stay action on the seat of the minority whip failed as the Senate President ruled him out of order.

Aliero explained that the opposition caucus resolved that Abba Moro should be the minority leader but was yet to decide on the position of  the minority whip.

But Akpabio referred him to Senate Standing Rule 52(6), which says it shall be out of order for any senator to speak on any issue that has already been decided.

Akpabio, therefore, ruled Aliero out of order.

Briefing newsmen after the drama, Moro pledged to reconcile all the aggrieved lawmakers with a view to providing strong opposition to move the country forward.

He said, “I will endeavour to bring all our people together to achieve oneness. We will provide viable opposition that would make government to provide good governance where Nigerians would enjoy social amenities.”

The PDP senators had, penultimate week, held a crucial meeting at the National Assembly complex Abuja on the replacement for the principal positions of Senate Minority Leader and Minority Whip.

Senator Garba Maidoki (PDP, Kebbi South), who briefed journalists after the closed-door meeting, had said the opposition lawmakers settled for North Central geo-political zone to produce the Minority Leader.

THISDAY checks revealed that only the PDP senators met secretly to pick Ngwu even when consultations were ongoing among the minority caucus.

It was also learnt that the minority caucus have been meeting to resolve the issue.