Senate Declares Majority, Minority Leaders’ Seats Vacant Following Defections to other parties

15 Jun Senate Declares Majority, Minority Leaders’ Seats Vacant Following Defections to other parties

The Senate resumed plenary on Tuesday after a six-week recess for party primaries which  about 70 per cent of the senators lost their parties’ tickets to return to the red chamber.

At the resumed plenary on Tuesday, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, announced the resignation of the Majority Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi and the Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe.

He said their resignation followed their defection from their political parties under which platform they got elected into the Senate.

Lawan said Abdullahi, in his letter of resignation attributed his decision to his defection from the All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Democratic Party.
He also said that Abaribe on the other hand defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

Lawan in yet another letter notified his colleagues that the Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Senator Adamu Aliero, had defected from the APC to the PDP.

The Senate President therefore directed the Chief Whip, Senator Orji Kalu, to relocate both the former Senate Leader and his colleague in the minority caucus, to another seats.

Attempts by Senators Phillip Aduda, George Thompson and Gabriel Suswan, to stop the relocation of Abaribe because he had not formally communicated his decision to his caucus, were frustrated by the Senate President.

He also advised Senator Betty Apiaffi, to seek legal redress when she cited constitutional provisions which required the defectors to lose their seats.
Meanwhile, the Senate President has advised his colleagues who lost in the just concluded primary elections at various levels to take heart and continue to pursue what they believe in.

He also wished those who defected to other political parties well and advised them to hope for a better opportunities in the nearest future.

….Gbajabiamila laments Reps’ defeat, blames delegate system

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila said the delegate system used in conducting political parties’ primary elections caused the defeat of many members of the House.

Gbajabiamila said at the resumption of plenary on Tuesday in Abuja that

it was rather unfortunate that the process went the way it went, adding that “I make bold to say here that the legislature has once again suffered losses.”

According to him, the loss really is not for members who lost, but a loss to democracy, to the institution and to the country.

“If it means anything, I know and I am aware that many of our members did not lose their primaries because they were rejected by their constituents.

“Many of our members lost because of the process, the process which we foresaw in the House of Representatives. The delegate system which unfortunately is not what a delegate system is supposed to be,” he said.

Gbajabiamila said that the past two months had been dominated by political pursuits across the country as political parties carried out various activities to nominate their candidates for the forthcoming general elections.

He added that some members who sought the nomination of their parties to return to legislature had not gotten it, while others who sought nomination to contest other positions had also fallen short in that quest.

He said that many members lost because they were not given a fair shot, adding that the House of Representatives had good legislators.

He added that the legislators abound both in the chambers and back home, who would not be coming back because of the delegate system.

“When we fought for direct primaries in this house, we knew exactly what we were saying. It pains me very deeply, that the process has gone the way it has gone.

“We will continue to push and continue to fight for our members, for democracy, for the institution and this country.

“I have experienced political loss and I can speak to the feelings of loss and disappointment that arise as a result,” he said.

He added that from experience, none of the members was defined by the outcome of any election, adding that what defined them was what they do in the time they had in public office and on earth.

The Speaker, however, enjoined members to set aside their feelings about recent electoral experiences to focus on serving the mandate they still had.

He said, ”whereas in the past, the start of the electoral calendar marked the end of governance as a priority, that will not be the case in this 9th Assembly.

“Our term in office does not end till next year. Until the moment it does, until the last minute of the final hour, we will do the people’s work and serve their interests.

“That is the oath we swore and the commitment we will live up to, come what may,” he said. (NAN)