Rivers Crisis: Senate Orders IGP To Appear, Tuesday …Senators Begin Screening Of Ministerial Nominees

Following the dynamics of the festering crisis in Rivers State and the alleged complicity of the state police command in the political upheavals, the Senate has summoned the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar to appear before it on Tuesday to give a situation report on the Rivers State crisis.
Consequently, the Senate says it expects the IGP to appear before it to explain the role of the police in the various political challenges the state had been facing in the last few months, including the alleged acts of impunity and intimidation of opposition politicians, and outright acts of negligence, irresponsibility and indiscipline.
The Senate said, while issuing the invitation to the IGP, that the summons became necessary following the escalating scale of the crisis, and the central role the police were allegedly playing in the uneasy political atmosphere in the state.
The Senate will also commence screening of President Goodluck Jonathan’s ministerial nominees on Wednesday.
The nominees are: Senator Musuliu Obanikoro (Lagos) , Hon Mohammed Wakili (Borno), Alhaji Abduljelili Oyewale Adesiyan (Osun), Amb Aminu Wall (Kano), Hajiya Jamila Salik (Kano), and Mrs Akon Etim Eyakenyi (Akwa Ibom).
The rest are, Lawrencia Labaran Mallam (Kaduna), Dr Tammy Danagogo (Rivers), Asabe Asmau Ahmed (Niger), Gen Aliyu Gusau Mohammed (Zamfara), Boni Haruna (Adamawa), and Dr Khaliru Alhassan (Sokoto).
Meanwhile, the hope of the 11 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators asking that their letter of defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) be read on the floor of the Senate has been dashed as the Senate has unequivocally declared that it would not concede to the senators’ demand.
The Senate leadership hinged its reason on the fact that the Senate President, David Mark, was still exploring legal interpretations, since the matter was still pending in court.
The Senate, for the second time in two days, went into a closed-door session to thrash out issues concerning the defection of the senators to the APC.
The first was last Tuesday when the Deputy President of the Senate, Sen Ike Ekweremadu, presided.
Senate spokesman, Sen Enyinnaya Abaribe told a press conference shortly after plenary preceded by a prolonged executive session, that those senators as lawmakers should not be law breakers, adding that since the case was still pending in the court of law, the Senate’s hands were tied on the matter.
The senators, he said, resolved at the executive session that the defection matter was already in court at the instance of the intending defectors and, as such, the Senate Rules bar them from entertaining such matter.
He said: “In the past, senators had defected but they did not go to court against the presiding officer. The senators who are defecting had first gone to court against the presiding officer. And, of course, if you go to court, that means that we have to suspend what we are doing pending the resolution of the matter in court.”
Abaribe explained that the closed-door session was to seek and find ways to address some critical legal issues brought up by the letter written by 11 PDP senators while the matter was still pending in court.
He also said that the legal issues bordering on the interpretation of the Constitution and the Senate Rules were thrown up in the course of the discussion.
Abaribe said: “I can confirm to you that on the matter of those who want to defect, the issue was also discussed during the closed-door session.
“It was also resolved that the Senate, the Senate president in particular, would have to seek further legal advice because of the serious legal issues that were thrown up during the discussion.

President Goodluck Jonathan (right), decorating the new Chief of Army Staff, Lt.- Gen. Kenneth Minimah with his new rank in Abuja last Wednesday. He was assisted by Vice President Namadi Sambo and Mrs Minimah, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.