SAN FRANCISCO, February 21, (THEWILL) – Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Lawmaker representing Delta Central Senatorial District, has apologised to the Senate over his comments on the amendment of the Electoral Act to order the sequence of polls during general elections.
THEWILL recalls that the Senate had on Tuesday resolved to query him over his allegation that the general elections timetable revised by the national Assembly was targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari.
Omo-Agege is one of the 10 aggrieved APC senators who stormed out of the chamber last Wednesday when the Senate passed the adoption to the amendment to the Electoral Act 2010 which caused a sharp division in the ranks of the APC caucus
Trouble started when the Senate adopted the report as presented by the Chairman of the conference committee, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Senator Suleiman Nazif.
Dissatisfied by the failure of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, to recognise their challenge against the adoption, 10 APC Senators, including Omo-Agege, stormed out of the chamber to brief journalists on their grievances with the amendment.
The other Senators are Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa-West), Abu Ibrahim (Katsina-North), Abdullahi Gumel (Jigawa-North), Ali Wakili (Bauchi-South), Binta Masi Garba (Adamawa-North), Umar Kurfi (Katsina-Central), Andrew Uchendu (Rivers-East), Benjamin Uwajumogu (Imo-North), and Abdullahi Yahaya (Kebbi-North).
“You don’t make a law targeted at one person. The perception out there is that this Section 25 was included to target Mr. President,” Omo-Agege stated when the aggrieved senators addressed journalists.
However, At the plenary session on Tuesday, Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi-West), raised a point of order to accuse Omo-Agege of denigrating the Senate by alleging that the resolution on the amendment was targeted at Buhari.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is not only my partyman, he is a President we all laboured to install and voted for. My brother and colleague, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, addressed the media where he said the decision taken by this Senate was targeted at Mr. President,” Melaye stated.
“If decisions in this Senate are now being teleguided and targeted at individuals, then this is no longer democracy. That statement to me is weighty.
“Today, to take the decision by the Senate and the integrity of the Senate put together (and say) that it was tailored to target a particular person, it is unheard of, it is in bad taste and I do not want to be part of that.
“I want to ask that this statement made by Ovie Omo-Agege, among other statements; that the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions needs to investigate this matter and find out if, truly, our decision was made and targeted at Mr. President, among other issues raised by him.”
Responding, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary, referred the matter to the Committee and asked the panel to present its report in two weeks.
However, when the Senate resumed plenary on Wednesday, Omo-Agege raised a point of order to apologise to the chamber and withdrew his comment.
Meanwhile, the Northern Senators Forum has sacked Senator Adamu as it’s Chairman over the issue and he has been replaced with Senator Aliyu Wamakko.
Senator Ekweremadu, who also presided on Wednesday, made the announcement of the leadership change at the close of plenary.
