There are strong indications that the Senate has concluded plans to suspend six senators in their involvement in a recent petition to the police over alleged forgery of Senate rules.
The six senators were said to have breached the rule of the National Assembly by their act and are expected to be placed on indefinite suspension despite the submission of an investigation into the allegations expected to be read on Tuesday, July 28, 2015.
The six senators were said to have breached the rule of the National Assembly by their act and are expected to be placed on indefinite suspension despite the submission of an investigation into the allegations expected to be read on Tuesday, July 28, 2015.
This was disclosed by two senators who are close to the leadership of the Senate in an interview with Vanguard.
The senators, who chose to remain anonymous, said the six senators acted against the legislative immunity the National Assembly has. They added that the six senators were found to have been actively involved in the petition to the Nigeria Police, alleging forgery of the Senate Standing Rule.
The suspension will take effect as from next week when the senate is expected to resume plenary session.
One of the source disclosed that the six senators, all of who are loyalists of Senator Ahmed Lawan, who lost the Senate President position to Bukola Saraki, would be place on indefinite suspension, after which they will subsequently be directed to appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics and Priveleges, which is set to be one of the committees to be named in Tuesday’s plenary.
Among the six senators are: Senator Kabiru Marafa, representing Zamfara Central and Suleiman Hunkuyi, representing Kaduna North.
The two senators are not only from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), but also from the Senate Unity Forum, a group of senators who are against the emergence of Senator Saraki, as Senate President.
The source said: “Some senators who lost their bid to be in the Senate leadership have decided that we must not settle down for legislative business which we were in the first place elected here to do and we are not going to allow this continue. We have tolerated distraction enough but I can tell you that all these will come to an end as we resume.
“We have decided on what to do in order to move forward and first among the actions we are taking immediately from Tuesday, is to suspend these renegades in our midst.
“In spite of our rule which forbids our issues being taken outside of the legislature, some people have gone to ridicule us and we must not allow this to continue if the National Assembly, especially the Senate, which we have known in the past few years must be allowed to work for Nigerians.”
According to the source, shortly after the senators are suspended, a motion to be raised by one of the senators loyal to the Senate President Bukola Saraki would follow.
The motion will call on the Senate to look into the allegation of forgery of Senate Rule by some members and subsequent petition to the police for investigation, which they noted, resulted in the current crisis in the legislature.
Meanwhile, Senator Marafa, one of the six senators to be suspended, has dismissed the reports, saying Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy Ike Ekweremadu, as well as other principal officers in the Senate leadership would be sent packing on Tuesday, July 28, 2015, when the Senate resumes plenary session.
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