Reps fight to pulp over leadership positions, PDP blames Buhari

Firstclass newsline learnt that federal lawmakers in the House of
Representatives on Thursday engaged in a free-for-all over the sharing
of principal offices by the majority All Progressives Congress.
Reacting to the development, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party
slammed President Muhammadu Buhari, saying "the disgraceful act" in
the House was a direct consequence of President Buhari's lack of
democratic credentials and lack of respect for the independence and
sanctity of the legislative arm of government.
But the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and
Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, insisted on Thursday that Buhari would
not intervene in the leadership crisis currently rocking the National
Assembly until the APC state governors asked him to do so.
Shehu said this while featuring onSunrise, a programme on a
Lagos-based private television station,Channels TV.
He said, "When the governors met with the President, they told him
that 'we are the leaders in our states and we have influence over all
of these senators. They come from our places and from us and we can
handle it.'
"The President will step into the crisis at the point when the
governors say they can no longer fix it."
Angry APC members on the floor of the House tore each other's clothes,
threw punches, upturned tables, threw bound copies of law books,
kicked chairs and shouted on top of their voices for about 105 minutes
the rowdy session lasted.
Some daring members, led by a lawmaker from Sokoto State, Mr. Balarabe
Salame, actually made to snatch the mace, but the Sergeant-at-Arms and
other lawmakers quickly rescued the authority symbol of the
legislative House and deposited same in the Speaker's office.
Directly behind Saleme was a member from Kano State, Mr. Ali Madaki.
Salame also made to attack the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, but he
retreated as Dogara loyalists rushed at him and threatened to throw
him out of the chamber.
Amid the shoving and punching, shouts of "Dogara", "Dogara", "Give us
our leaders", "Party is supreme'', "PDP, power", "APC, change" and
"APC, shame", were heard in a discordant manner.
The bone of contention,firstclass newsline learnt, was the
non-announcement of the names of principal officers of the House as
directed by the leadership of the APC.
The party, had in a letter dated June 23, asked the Speaker to
announce Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos State) as the Majority Leader;
Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa (Kano State) as his deputy; Mr. Mohammed
Monguno (Borno State) as the Chief Whip; and Mr. Pally Iriase (Edo
State) as his deputy.
The party had explained that it took the decision following
"consultations" with the various caucuses.
There had been tension in the House over the matter even before the
Thursday's sitting.
For example, the North-Central and South-East caucuses had protested
their exclusion from the sharing of the positions.
They had protested against giving the South-West and the North-East
additional positions, having produced the deputy speaker and speaker
respectively already.
Thursday's fracas was fallout of the lingering dispute in the APC
following the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as President of the
Senate and Dogara as the Speaker on June 9.
How Speaker ignited 'riot'
Trouble started on Thursday when contrary to the expectations of many
APC lawmakers, Dogara did not announce the names of the principal
officers. Rather, he opted to call for an executive session soon after
his procession entered the chambers.
The Speaker had beckoned to a member from Benue State, Mr. Orker Jev,
to move a motion for the executive session.
But several hands promptly went up, with members shouting, "point of
order, "point of order", but Dogara ignored them and directed Jev to
continue.
The Speaker's action apparently infuriated some members hence the
pandemonium that followed.
Ado-Doguwa climbed onto a desk right in front of Dogara and attempted
to incite members, but he was chased down by those backing Dogara. The
Speaker's backers threw hard copies of law books they picked from the
desk at Ado-Doguwa.
Also, some members suddenly produced and carried placards with an
inscription, "Nigerians voted party; party is supreme."
Some members of the APC, who were not favourably disposed to the
decision of the party, as well as the Peoples Democratic Party members
in the House, were also seen forming a protective human shield around
Dogara.
The PDP members claimed that they were out to protect the House as an
institution, not that they were part of the crisis in the APC. They
were led by a member from Delta State, Mr. Leo Ogor.
All the while, Gbajabiamila sat quietly at a corner, watching the
unfolding drama.
But, after sensing that the matter was getting out of hands, he rose
to meet and discuss with Dogara briefly at the Chair. At 12pm, he
tried to address the rowdy members but his efforts failed.
It was not until 12.31pm that calm began to return gradually as
Gbajabiamila and Ogor appealed to the warring members to return to
their seats.
We'll resolve our conflict, Dogara says
Dogara thereafter addressed the House, expressing disappointment over
the conduct of the members.
He said the 360 members should consider themselves "fortunate" to be
elected as representatives out of 170 million Nigerians.
Dogara noted that the members were sent to Abuja to promote national
interest and not personal or sectional interests.
He said, "To be candid, we have promised so much in the course of our
electioneering and even the very party I belong to, the APC, we have
promised change and Nigerians expect us to really talk about those
matters, those issues that bother them most.
"They want to hear us talk about unemployment, poverty; in my region,
they want us to address insecurity and as long as this House is
divided and not united, we cannot achieve that."
On the issue that led to the fracas, Dogara said all available
channels would be explored to resolve it.
"As to the issues that led to the fracas today, we will sit down as
leaders and resolve whatever caused the fight. We have to ensure that
this matter, as quickly as possible, is resolved and that is what we
will do by the grace of God," he stated.
The Speaker quickly adjourned the House till July 21, apparently to
douse tension.
'Action breached legislative proceedings'
In its official position, the House expressed regrets over the conduct
of the members, accusing them of breaching legislative proceedings.
The Chairman, House Ad Hoc Committee on Media, Mr. Sani Zoro, said,
"It was obvious from the action of these members that they were acting
on a premeditated script, as some of them even carried placards with
inscriptions on them.
"These members attempted to seize the mace, which is the symbol of
authority of the House, and other sundry acts of fighting, fracas,
misconduct, disruption and committed unparliamentarily actions
unbecoming of the status of honourable members.
"The conduct of these members amounts to contempt of the House and is
in clear violation of the Standing Orders of the House and Legislative
Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act and the customs and traditions of
Parliament."
But, the majority of the APC members, who took sides with the party,
described as "illegal" the refusal of Dogara to announce the names of
the principal officers as directed by the party.
Mr. Nasir Zango-Daura, who spoke for the APC Caucus, argued that the
positions in question were party positions and not House positions,
hence Dogara could not dictate who occupied them.
"That is the responsibility that lies with the party and its caucuses.
If I may ask, can he appoint principal officers for the PDP? His
action will truncate our democracy", Zango-Daura said.
He vowed that the members would continue to fight, "come rain, come
shine", until the matter was resolved in their favour.
On its part, the PDP caucus took the same position as the official
position of the House.
Its leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, told a news conference that the APC members
disrupted the House proceedings because of an issue that was "purely
the internal affair of the APC."
He added, "We ruled this country for 16 years, but now we are starting
on a very bad note.
"We apologise to Nigerians for the conduct of the APC members and we
appeal to the members that if they have a crisis in their party, they
should resolve it within their party and not take the entire country
hostage."
Meanwhile, the APC caucus resolved at a late night meeting on
Wednesday that Monguno should swap positions with Iraise.
Iriase is now to be the Chief Whip, while Monguno will be his deputy.
Iriase announced the switch at the same news conference where the APC
members gave their reactions to the fracas.
It was a disgraceful act–PDP
The PDP condemned the fracas in the House, describing it as a show of
shame and national embarrassment.
It said that the ugly development questioned Buhari and APC's
commitment to democracy, unity and the stability of the country.
The opposition party's reaction was contained in a statement by its
National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in Abuja on Thursday.
"The barbaric attempt to physically assault a duly elected Speaker,
seize the mace, the authority of the House, is a direct attack on the
Nigerian parliament, which embodies the supremacy of the people and
our freedom as a democratic nation," it said.
The PDP said what Nigerians witnessed in the House on Thursday clearly
underscored the fact that the APC had exhausted its excuses and had
imported "its internal contradictions" into an independent arm of
government as a way to further cover its lack of ideas for governance.
"We state unequivocally that the onus lies on President Buhari to
ensure that all democratic institutions are harnessed for
effectiveness, a responsibility he has apparently abdicated by
allowing his personal interest to instigate division in the
parliament, a tendency that poses great threat to the survival of our
democracy and the stability of the nation," the party added.
Firstclassnewsline.net