The senate is yet to react to yesterday early morning broadcast by President Goodluck Jonathan during which he put a final seal on the ceding of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun even against the resolution of the legislative house.
?But the Southern Senators Forum (SSF) were cautious in their response as they, distanced themselves from the presidency’s decision not to appeal the ICJ judgment, and declared instead that the matter is beyond them.
It would be recalled that the ICJ in its ruling in 2002 ceded Bakassi peninsula, which is located in Cross River state of Nigeria to the Cameroon, with a 10-year window gap for appeal which expires today.
Chairman of SSF, Senator James Manager (PDP, Delta) while briefing journalists after a closed door meeting at the National Assembly said that the Senate would review the decision of the President not to lodge an appeal against the judgment.
Although Manager added that the Federal Government had refused to go an appeal due to absence of new facts in compliance with article 61 of the ICJ ruling, he nonetheless said that the matter is for entire Senate to act on.
?“A motion was brought on the floor of the Senate, discussion was made, and at the end of the day, Senate concluded urging the President, in fact the executive arm of government to appeal the judgment that was given 10 years ago.
?“But what we are hearing from the executive is that there is no fresh fact, because one of the conditions under which you must make an appeal is when there is fresh issues, issues that were not there as at the time the judgment was given, therefore as part of the things you must appeal upon is other issues arising from outside of the issues that were canvassed on which judgment was given. So we may not have all the details but the executive has all the details.
?“The forum decided to leave that one out because that was an issue for the entire Senate, but I think that at the appropriate time the Senate will take a look to see what actually happened. “But the forum did not go into that at all, although Bakassi and all that it contains are around the south, no doubt about that, but it is an issue that we sincerely believe is beyond the forum.”
Senator Manager who also spoke on President Jonathan’s N17 billion intervention funds to flood victims asked the Presidential Committee responsible for disbursing the funds to ensure equitable distributions, adding that some of the states with fewer disasters could become heavily affected later.
?“Today, the entire effect of the flood is affecting the southern states. The President has just announced a package to ameliorate the sufferings of the people and if I tell you what is happening in the southern part of this country, you will be shocked.
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