The Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, on Tuesday told the leadership of All Progressives Congress to leave the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, alone instead of calling for his removal.
Since the emergence of Ekweremadu, the national leadership of the APC had been calling for his removal because of his party affiliation.
He is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party.
However, Na’Allah, while speaking with newsmen, warned that external influence from the APC would worsen the ongoing leadership tussle in the National Assembly rather than solve it.
He said the issue at hand in the 8th Senate as regards configuration of leadership is not crisis per se, but disagreements among senators on how certain things should be done, which can be sorted out without external influence from any quarters.
He said: “Let me say that we do not have a crisis in the Senate.
“What we have are disagreements between our colleague senators on how certain things should be done.
“When you have a crisis then you are talking about reconciliation, but when you have a disagreement it is not about reconciliation it is about sorting out the matter based on what all of us believe in.
“The happy thing about it is that there is not a single senator in both groups who does not believe in the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerian as it relates to the Senate.
“So it is going to be a very simple issue to settle provided the external influence ceases for the time being.”
On statement credited to the former Interim National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande, that the ongoing crisis in the National Assembly is a fall out of the conspiracy of the northern elites against the Yorubas, Na’Allah said it was unfortunate for the respected elder statesman to make such allegation at a time nobody wants to be labelled a northerner or southerner but rather a Nigerian.
He said: “Mr. Akande is a very senior member of this country and I am not so sure that he has not been misquoted with respect to that issue. But even if it is, I am absolutely sure that that (allegation) cannot be a correct statement of the situation.
“The North holds every section of this country high.
“We detest the situation of labeling us North.
“We have gone past that stage in the development of our country.
“We are a united country, whether we like it or not.
“If there is conspiracy on the part of the North, what makes you think that it will involve bringing somebody from the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) and South East to be the Deputy Senate President?”
Na’Allah also urged the ruling APC members to accept Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President and move forward, saying: “President (Muhammadu Buhari) had already said that he was willing to work with everyone.
“I know that as loyal party members, we are not happy with the situation (regarding Ekweremadu’s position), but as matured people, we should be able to make good of what has happened and then move the country forward.”
Reacting to the letter from the APC, Na’Allah argued that the Senate President, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, was right by refusing to read it on the floor of the Red Chamber.
Na’Allah, who further observed that it would be unconventional to read any letter on the floor other that of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, added that the principle is practiced by parliaments all over the world.
His words: “A lot of people do not understand.
“As a member of the National Assembly, the moment you step into the National Assembly, you either take the Bible or the Quran, then you subscribe to the oath of allegiance and then take your oath of office.
“The oath of office says that you will uphold, protect and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the law and then the Rules of the Senate.
“Outside these three documents, a senator does not have any leverage to do anything outside.
“There is no other document outside these three.
“Then, if you carefully look at the Rules of the Senate, the only letters that can be read on the floor of the Senate or the House is a letter from Mr. President.
“That is the convention, not only in Nigeria, but all other parliaments all over the world.
“People should understand the workings of democracy before they begin to make imputations that are not known in democratic circles.”
Na’Allah however made clarifications that the party can have influence on its members in the National Assembly in a way that would not make the members to violate either constitutional provisions or relevant rules of the parliament.
He said: “When a party wins an election, it calls the caucus of all those who got involved in bringing a successful election.
“Then, it will say Mr. A, B, C helped this party greatly at the polls.
“So, we intend to compensate that person by appointing a credible person from that side of the country to be our Secretary to the Government (of the Federation) and our intention is to select this person to be our Chief of Staff.
“So, at your caucuses, we advice that you bring people from this geopolitical zone so that we (will) be able to balance the party for smooth governance.
“Then, the caucuses will come and sit down and say in view of what the party has said, it is important for us to now zone maybe Senate Presidency to this.
“That is how the calculations are made.
“I am not seeing any issue here.
“It is just that people are trying to overheat the polity without knowing what it is all about.”