Nigeria’s defecting senators slip through Mark’s blockade

Proceedings were held up in the Senate for about one hour on Tuesday as five Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senators openly announced their defection to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC during the plenary session.

The five Senators- Abubakar Bukola Saraki, (Kwara Central), Magnus Abe, (Rivers South East), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West), Wilson Ake (Rivers West),and Aisha Jumai Al-Hassan are part of the 11 PDP lawmakers in the upper chamber who declared for APC late last year.

The 11 lawmakers had last month written the Senate President intimating him of their change of political platform.

However, Senator David Mark, the President of the Senate has refused to read the letter arguing that there is an earlier order of the Court which barred him from doing so.

Subsequent efforts by the Senators to get Senator Mark read the letter have been frustrated.

Ahead of Tuesday’s plenary, some of the Senators had told journalists of their resolve to adopt undisclosed ingenious ways to announce their defection.

PM NEWS learnt that the open declaration was informed by the refusal of the Senate President to read the letter.

In a move which obviously rattled the usually calm Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, led the way when he raised a point of order which turned out to be a formal announcement of his defection to APC.

Senator Saraki who led the group of defectors raised Order 14(a) which deals with privileges and listed the names of PDP Senators who wrote the Senate to announce their defection to the APC.

But the Senate President told him that the matter he raised is pending in court and the Senate will not discuss it.

Mark added that “privilege does not apply here because you were the person who went to court.”

But the Kwara State Senator responded that “Presently, under Privilege I have informed the Senate that I have defected from the PDP to the APC and the matter in court is not about defection but the declaration of my seat vacant.”

The Senate President disagreed and said his interpretation of the issue in court is not that of declaration of seat vacant.

His four other colleagues- Adamu Abdullahi, Wilson Ake, Magnus Abe and Aisha Alhassan, also raised point of order and announced their defection to the APC individually.

Proceedings in the upper legislative chamber were held up for over an hour as the defecting Senators argued on the enforcement of their privilege to associate freely.

Mark, however, relied on Senate Order 53(3) to rule the defectors out of Order as he argued that the matter of defection of the Senators is in court and no reference shall be made to it according to Senate rule.

“The senate has rules and these senators are aware of the rules. The Senate President has not done anything special; he is only playing by the rules of the Senate,” Chairman of Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Eyinnaya Abaribe said while speaking on the defection drama.