With the above words, the President of the Senate and Chairman of the National Assembly, Senator David Mark, announced the decision of the red chamber to forgive its ‘erring’ member, Senator Babajide Omoworare, during plenary on Thursday. And he thus managed to escape suspension from the upper chamber for casting aspersions on the
integrity of the legislature. But what did the legislator do to merit being considered for suspension in the first instance?
It all began on Wednesday when the Senate decided to put to vote the debate seeking the intervention of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in the on-going imbroglio in the Rivers State House of Assembly. The state legislators had, the previous day, dented the image of the legislative arm of government when its members resorted to what could rightly be likened to what could have made factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) turned green with envy. The otherwise respectable ‘honourables’ in the Rivers Assembly threw caution to the wind and, in the full glare of the camera, engaged in a motor-park-like fighting, with some of their members ending up in hospital beds after sustaining various degrees of injury.
Senator Magnus Abe had raised a motion on the Rivers Assembly fracas namely, “That the Senate further resolve that the Inspector General of Police should take immediate step to address the issue of the broken relationship between the governor of Rivers State and the state Commissioner of Police.”
In response to this prayer, the red chamber resorted to physical vote counting and it was eventually resolved against those senators who were seeking the removal of the Rivers State Commissioner of Police.
The outcome of the exercise was announced by the Senate President. According to him, three senators were absent from the day’s sitting, seven abstained from voting, those who voted in favour of outright removal of the Commissioner of Police were 47, while 50 senators supported the IGP intervention.
To Omoworare, the result, as announced by Senator Mark, was not in tandem with what really transpired on the floor. Short of calling the Senate President names, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) senator, who represents Osun East, over-dramatised his bias against the voting exercise as he was seen being placated by some fellow ACN legislators. He subsequently called for a division through Order 73 of the Senate Standing Rule.
However Mark, who maintained that the result he announced was authentic and impossible to manipulate, challenged Omoworare to approach the tribunal if he was not satisfied with the outcome of the exercise.
Not quite a few of the senators present at the Wednesday plenary were taken aback by Senator Omoworare’s outburst. Reflecting the mood of its leadership, Senate’s spokesman, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, while briefing newsmen on the legislative business of the day, attributed Omoworare’s action to the outburst of an infant senator. Describing the division and voting approach taken on the Rivers State crisis as a democratic tool to determine which side of the divides eventually carried the day, Abaribe echoed Mark’s stand on the voting exercise, as he said it was impossible for it not to be accurate. He also dismissed the insinuation of rigging, as he said the vote on proceedings on Wednesday’s plenary the following day would reflect the accuracy of the exercise.
Omoworare committed a greater blunder on the issue as he, in an interview with some newsmen shortly after plenary, likened the voting in the Senate to the recent controversial Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) election which produced two factions. And this turned out to be his nemesis because on resumption of plenary of Thursday, Senator Bello Tukur, Adamawa Central, raised Order 14 to 16, questioning the action of Omoworare.
Omoworare was however unfazed, as he confidently called for a playback of his action. “I will want to watch the playback and then know what I said. If that is the intention, I am sorry if I have given that impression or misquoted. But I did not say so. Mr. President, I did not say so. Thank you very much sir” he had said.
But Senator Mark, who insisted that he was using wrong words, even while apologising said; “Distinguished Senator, if your stand is that you did not say so, and there is a claim that you said so, then the only people who can decide will not be at the floor here because it will go to the Committee on Ethics and Public Complaints. If that is your stand, you have to make up your mind and if you are going to apologise, you must apologise only for what you have said, not what you believe you didn’t say.”
It was at that juncture that Omoworare tendered an unreserved apology, saying, “Mr President sir, I said if that is the impression everybody has...Mr President, Mr President, I apologise. Mr. President, distinguished senators, I apologise.”
Accepting the apology with some reservations, the Senate President said; “If you said so and you are truly sorry for it, I think we will be prepared to take the apology because anyone of us can err. If at the point of emotion you went to that length, I just have to caution that we should control ourselves because we are in a democracy…If our wish didn’t come true in a particular item, I think you should not castigate your colleagues for it.
“It was done in the open. The votes and proceedings are here for everybody to see. I think, if you look at the votes and proceedings because you also told me yesterday that the figures were not correct and if there is any one you think doesn’t match your own, then you let us know because it is very, very clear. To liken what we did yesterday (Wednesday) to the election in the governors’ Forum, I think is totally unacceptable. There is no basis for the comparison at all.
“You were all here and with all due respect, I think you went completely overboard Christopher. I have a lot of respect for you but you should not cast aspersions on the integrity of your own colleagues. Your apology is taken.”
Beyond Omoworare’s gaffe and the subsequent apology, most of the ‘experienced’ senators are beginning to question the rate of turnover in the legislature in which many lawmakers lose their seats after first term.
Stressing the importance of experience, the Senate President emphasised the need for senators to serve for more than one term in order to understand the rudiments of legislation and master the rules of the game.
Also expressing disgust at what happened on Wednesday, Senator Smart Adeyemi told Nigerian Tribune there is a need for his colleagues to embrace the middle-level approach on any issue so that the legislative institution would not be subjected to ridicule. Adeyemi said it was quite noticeable that rather them passing many resolutions which may not be binding, the legislature should be anchored by experienced hands to enhance robust legislative business and passage of effective and efficient resolutions.
tribune.com.ng
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