Some prominent senators have warned that President Jonathan will be at the risk of impeachment if he continues to ignore resolutions passed by the National Assembly. Senator Uche Chukwumerije (PDP, Abia), apparently worried over the executive’s impunity, said: “The Ahmad Lawan report is the highest moral ground of the Seventh Senate so far.
It was that report that convinced everybody, the public, that the hope for this country lies with the Senate; that there’s still one body that’s concerned with the nation which lies far above sectionalism.
Chuwkumerije offered to lead the motion on the president’s impeachment if nothing is done to curb rising corruption in Nigeria, which he blamed on non-implementation of the National Assembly’s resolution prescribing punishment for indicted public officeholders.
He said, “The BPE report shows uninhibited siphoning of public funds through all sorts of subtleties into private pockets and private companies. We must pass a resolution calling on the attention of Mr. President to the main body of that report.
“As of two weeks ago, with Lawan and others I started collecting signatures that, if we could collect two-thirds or so, we are going to get it here — a motion that gives marching order to Mr. President to do something about this report, or else…
“We are getting to that stage in this country. We cannot continue like this with the impunity in which they continue looting public funds and nobody is saying anything. When it comes to the stage of threatening impeachment, Uche Chukwumerije will do it and move a motion.
“The pattern in this country all along has been one siphoning of country funds through all sorts of legal subtleties to private pockets and private companies.
“And for the first time, there was a bold report that exposed the rot and we called for a reversal of this pattern…unfortunately, it is business as usual. It is, therefore, in the interest of this Senate that, in addition to what we are doing on this Act as we are doing now, we must pass a resolution calling the attention of Mr President to the main body of that report.”
The outburst was sequel to a bill for an act to amend the Public Enterprise (Privatization and Commercialization) yesterday, which was sponsored by Senator Ifeanyi Okowa. They all chorused that they were vexed by the constant non-implementations of its resolutions, adding that the actions amounted to bad governance.
Consequently, the Senate demanded that President Jonathan should implement its resolution on the probe of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, by immediately sacking the director-general, Ms. Bolanle Onagoruwa, who was indicted for gross misconduct in the sale of government enterprises.
Deputy Senate president Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the bill, urged President Jonathan to ignore claims by the minister of information, Mr. Labaran Maku, that National Assembly’s resolutions are mere advisory tools which can be implemented or ignored by the federal government without any consequences. Said he: “I do not think we need the minister of information — indeed any minister — to remind us that our resolutions are not binding, just as we do not need to remind him that he was not elected. So we know that our resolutions are not binding, but the decisions we take in this Senate, especially regarding the resolutions, are all well thought-out.
“They are borne out of patriotism, they are well researched and it is the amalgamation of the views of very responsible Nigerians. And, to that extent, it is very persuasive and anybody who is ignoring the resolutions of this Senate is doing it at the expense of good governance and we cannot encourage such a thing.
“We believe that this is an opportunity for Mr. President to go and look for the resolutions of the Senate regarding the BPE investigation. If there are very fat buttocks that are sitting on it, I think he should use his executive powers and push them out and get the report out and begin to implement them for the overall interest of this country.”
The chairman of the ad-hoc committee that conducted investigation into sale of government enterprises by the BPE, Senator Ahmed Lawan, in his contribution, urged Jonathan to implement all the recommendations.
He urged the president to ignore comments from Maku, adding that Senate resolutions are on critical issues which are meant to move the nation forward.
According to him, “It is time that the BPE resolution of the Senate that had been passed to Mr. President for his action is considered forthwith. Mr. President must ignore people like Labaran Maku who will always tell Nigerians, unfortunately, that the resolutions we passed are only advisory and have no weight and do not matter.
“While it is true that the resolutions of the National Assembly are advisory, members of the National Assembly passed a resolution that is so important, so critical to making Nigeria work; therefore I urge Mr. President to now take immediate action on the BPE resolution passed by this Senate.”
Leading the debate on the bill, Senator Okowa noted that the amendment would enhance security of public enterprises by allocating 5 per cent shareholdings to staff and host community of any privatised government enterprise.
He said: “The amendment provides for not less than 5 per cent of shares to be offered to Nigerians, to be reserved for the host communities of the public enterprises to be privatised, and also proposed not less than 5 per cent of such shares for sale to be reserved for the staff of the public enterprise.
“The import of this amendment is to enhance the security of the public enterprise as both the staff of the enterprise and the host community will buy into the process of the privatisation and would, as co-owners, protect such enterprise post-privatisation.”
Senators were in support of the bill. Many of them that spoke maintained that allocating 5 per cent share to the host community and staff of a privatised public enterprise would enhance the survival of the enterprise and boost the economy.
Senator James Manager, PDP, Delta, speaking in support of the bill said 5 per cent shares would give the host communities and staff a sense of belonging.
German hospital dispels first lady’s death rumour
Contrary to rumours that First lady Patience Jonathan had passed away yesterday in German Hospital where she is receiving medical attention, a reliable source confirmed to LEADERSHIP that? she is alive but in a critical condition.
The first lady has been in Horst Schmidt Klinik for over four weeks where she underwent a major operation to remove some poisonous substances from her intestines, following ruptured appendix.
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