Senator Flays Call For Saraki’s Removal

The Chairman of Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, has described as crass ignorance on the part of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Party (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and some of his party members, their call that Senator Bukola Saraki must be impeached as Senate President if he fails to resign from office.
Urhoghide, who spoke to newsmen in Benin City, yesterday, said that the 1999 Constitution as amended makes it expressly clear how the presiding officers of the Senate could be removed.
He said, “Nobody is afraid of reconvening the Senate. If you want to remove the President of the Senate, there is a constitutional procedure. Section 52 (2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended says that only 2/3 of the entire membership of the Senate after a resolution can remove the President of the Senate.
“Again, Section 50(a) of the same Constitution as amended says there shall be the President of the Senate which shall be elected by members of the Senate. It did not say by the party in power or the party that has the majority. There is nothing in the Constitution which talks about any political party producing the Senate President.
“So, if anybody is crying outside the Senate on how to produce or remove the Senate President, let me direct them to Section 52 (2c). So, let them continue to perpetuate their ignorance. We can decide to elect Senator Victor Umeh, the only AGPA Senator as our President. Anybody can be elected as Senate President out of the entire membership of the Senate.
“The Constitution did not say that it must be the party in power or the party that has the highest numbers of senators that must produce the President of the Senate. It did not even say that you must be a Senator, first timer or a high ranking senator. The issue of majority or minority is out of ignorance.”
On the call that the Senate must reconvene to consider the over N300billion for Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to enable the body conduct the 2019 general elections, he said the Senate and House of Representatives Committees were already looking into the issue, adding that as soon as the joint committee completes its assignment, the National Assembly may reconvene to consider it.