The Senate also set up a six-man ad-hoc committee under the Chairmanship of the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume (APC Borno South), to carry out thorough investigation of recent attacks of the herdsmen and possible way out of the menace
Author: Emmanuel Leke
Fika had said the appointment of Sani-Omolori still stands because considering the Acting Deputy Clerk of National Assembly, Benedict Efeturi, for the position is against Nigeria Public Service rules
The OccupyNASS had since Tuesday blocked the entrance of the National Assembly without any effort by the police to dislodge them
The protesters equally asked Saraki to face his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal
The Senate had in past weeks in strongly worded statements asked President Buhari to immediately sign the budget and also called for the resignation of the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi
However, our correspondent gathered that at the closed-door session in the Senate on Thursday, which lasted for one and half hours, senators agreed to make progress in the interest of Nigerians.
The Senate took the decision after a closed door session, which started by 11:05am and ended at 1:43pm, on Wednesday
The tribunal made its position known at the resumed trial of Saraki on Monday
The five of them were burnt beyond recognition
The court, presided over by Justice Abdul Kafarati, said Saraki must face his trial by the CCT over allegations of false declaration of assets
However, the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, who spoke on behalf of National Assembly on the 2016 budget, said the Lagos-Calabar railway line was never captured in the budget sent by the Executive
The Transition Monitoring Group, a coalition of over 400 civil organisations working for the entrenchment of democracy and good governance in Nigeria, had already added its voice to the growing calls for the embattled Senate president to step down from office
The Senate president noted that though the prosecution tried to bring in some dramatic narratives, it was clear that they were merely thrashing around and hoping to titillate the public with salacious tales
Agabi was earlier represented by Paul Usoro (SAN), who said the absence of the lead counsel was as a result of flight hitches.
Agabi came in after the tribunal had overruled the defence’s request for the adjournment of the trial
The Tribunal ruled on Tuesday that despite a suit filed at the Court of Appeal by Saraki questioning its ruling on the trial, there was no need to adjourn the case as demanded by the defence team
Saraki said despite refusing to declare the assets in question, he has fully complied with the provisions of the law on declaration of assets by public officers
Sekoni spoke to NAN on the sideline of a news briefing organised by the union at the institution’s main campus in Ojo, Lagos.
Sekoni said the autopsy report confirmed that Gbaduyan’s death was natural and unconnected to anyone
Kachikwu apologised to Nigerians over a comment credited to him by media
This followed a ruling on Thursday by the CCT dismissing Saraki’s application to quash the charges.
Based on his assessment and coupled with the logistical requirement, Arase immediately deployed two units of Police Mobile Force to the area