River Emergency Rule: We Followed Due Process, Senate Insists

The Nigerian Senate has said due process was followed before okaying the emergency rule recently declared by President Bola Tinubu in River State. The Senate spokesman, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, who stated this also played down the insinuation that the National Assembly has become a rubber stamp for the executive.

Adaramodu who is the chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs said their actions and relations with the executive are in line with the constitution, the rule and orders of the Senate.

The federal lawmaker who is representing Ekiti South Senatorial District, spoke in his Ilawe Ekiti country home during a chat with journalists.

Speaking further on the emergency rule, Senator Adaramodu said Section 63 of the constitution expressly stipulates that the Senate and the House of Representatives, will make rules and laws that will guide the activities internally.

“So we have guidelines and the guidelines is that even in the constitution, outside section 305 that stipulates that there could be emergency rule in any part of Nigeria, if there is imminent danger that can jeopardize the peace and the smooth running of the country which would be determined by the president and then it is not absolute. It is not absolute because , it has to come to the national assembly for consideration and then the national assembly, constitutionally is given only 48 hours, two days to look at it and consider it.

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“There are other prescriptions, like when a state of emergency is declared , its consideration by the national assembly must be through closed session because, it is a security matter which cannot just be open to everybody for either interpreting or misinterpreting. It has to be debated in a close session.

“Looking at orders 134, 135 and 136 , it stipulates that, anything agreed upon after extensive discussion at the closed session cannot be brought plenary for debating or discussing again. So the issue was address by the national assembly in line with the law and rule.It was debated exhaustively and we all agreed at the close session that we are supporting it” .

He disclosed that the Senate increased the clauses outside what the president brought.

‘Like the emergency rule may not last six months if there is feeling that the atmosphere is conducive, that the sole administrator will not only be reporting to the presidency , that the national assembly, shall continually and continuously adjudicate and do oversight function over the sole administrator in River State. Meaning that, since we made laws of appropriation, then it must be supervised by us and that a committee is set up to bring all the warring factions together to mediate and arbitrate among them to bring peace and make a report to the presidency and the national assembly and the rule will be called off and normalcy will prevail”.

The federal lawmaker who appealed to Nigerians not to be misinterpreting the rules of the national assembly and the country’s constitution the way they like said the national assembly is not bending its rules , contradict its rules and we are doing what we should be doing.

On the perception that National Assembly, has become a rubber stamp to the executive, he said “What is the meaning of rubber stamp . So does it mean that if the executive brings appropriation bill, which is the budget, the federal government wants to construct road, want to increase allocation to the judiciary, give new minimum wage to workers, because we don’t want to be called rubber stamp, we should oppose it and throw them away . One thing is this, we are not in the Senate with gloves in our hands to go and be knocking, beating, fighting the executive or other arms of government. That is not our calling. Our calling is that we are partners in progress with other arms of government.

“We make laws, to execute is in the hands of the executive to interprete is in the hands of the judiciary. We will not be making laws and at the same be interpreting it and be executing it . What are the laws that we have made that have shown the Senate or the House of Representatives as an entity that is not focused”.

He said even the tax reform bill the government was initially criticized for with people raising eyebrows has become acceptable to them after the processes were duly followed by the national assembly and passed at the third reading.