While the APC has already taken the ascendancy in the House
of Representatives with its members set to take over the control of the House later this month, the scenario in the Senate, Vanguard learnt, is being complicated by the
determination of the Senate President, David Mark's
leadership to strictly enforce the rules.
Strategy sessions to reinforce the domination of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP is being coordinated by leading PDP
senators from their holiday homes across the country.
The Senate is not due to resume until later this month.
Despite alleged issues between Senator Mark and President
Goodluck Jonathan arising from federal appointments from
Benue State, and the supremacy battle between the Senate
President and Governor Gabriel Suswam, Mark it was learnt,
is determined to safeguard the dominance of the PDP in the
Senate. Mark it was claimed is not unaware of the fact that
safeguarding the dominance of the PDP is a way of keeping
his own position.
Threats against the PDP control of the Senate intensified
earlier this week after Senators Bukola Saraki from Kwara
State and Magnus Abe from Rivers State disclosed their
intention to defect to the APC.
Twenty two senators and 57 members of the House of
Representatives had last December obtained a court order
stopping the Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and Senator Mark
from declaring the seats of members of the then New PDP
vacant should they choose to change parties on the floor of the
two chambers of the National Assembly.
Mark to enforce rules
It was learnt that Senator Mark was being persuaded by
partisans in the PDP to strictly enforce the provisions of the
constitution which forbid members of the National Assembly
from changing parties unless there is faction in the party
through which they were elected.
Section 68 (1) (g) stipulating provisions for the declaration of
vacancy in the seat of National Assembly members states
thus:
68. (1) A member of the Senate or of the House of
Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of which he
is a member if -
(g) being a person whose election to the House was sponsored
by a political party, he becomes a member of another political
party before the expiration of the period for which that House
was elected;
Provided that his membership of the latter political party is
not as a result of a division in the political party of which he
was previously a member or of a merger of two or more
political parties or factions by one of which he was previously
sponsored.
Vanguard learnt, yesterday, that Senator Mark is being
persuaded to strictly apply the provisions of the constitution as
a way of deterring the rebellion against the PDP in the
chambers.
A principal officer in the Senate spoke on the issue last night,
saying the Senate leadership unlike the House leadership was
not elected with the support of the APC. Besides, the principal
officer disclosed that senators could not be swayed as members of the House of Representatives to defect from the
PDP by their governors who have just left the PDP.
"The fact is that the Senate unlike the House would be more
strict in interpreting and enforcing the provisions of the
constitution in the matter of defection," the principal officer
disclosed yesterday.
The senior senator also said assumptions that the APC would
get a boost from the defection of five former PDP governors
was far fetched. He said: "Senators are not like members of
the House of Representatives who mostly are politically
dependent on their governors. A number of senators are able
to resist their governors and so the story about the five
governors carrying all their senators to the APC is more like a
tale".
The senator nevertheless disclosed that the defectors' seats
may not be declared vacant, if the senators did not disclose
their defection on the floor of the House.
Presently, the PDP has 72 senators while the APC has 33 with
Labour, Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance making the
balance.
Via: Vanguard
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