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…Saraki, S’ East lawmakers may square up with Dogara, northern counterparts
From: FRED ITUA, Abuja
Baring any last minute change, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and lawmakers of South East extraction, in both chambers will, on Tuesday, square up with Speaker Yakubu Dogara and their counterparts from the North, over the recent proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) by the Federal Government.
The Federal Government, last Thursday, secured an order from the Federal High Court, in Abuja, proscribing IPOB.
Acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Abdul Kafafati had outlawed IPOB on the strength of an ex-parte motion filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, on behalf of the Federal Government.
The Defence Headquarters, on the heels of its Operation PYTHON DANCE II in the South East and two states in the South South, declared IPOB an illegal organisation.
Five Governors of the South East states took a similar decision and proscribed activities of the group in all the states of the region.
Findings by Daily Sun revealed that the South East Caucus of both chambers, at a meeting, held in Abuja, last week, agreed to raise a Point of Order, on Tuesday, when the National Assembly reconvenes.
It was learnt that the lawmakers, led by Eyinnaya Abaribe, who is among those who signed Nnamdi Kanu’s bail, were expected to move the motion on the floor of the Senate, while the leader of the caucus in the lower chamber, Mr. Chukwuka Onyema, would do same in the House of Representatives.
While Saraki has made his intentions known that he would commission a probe panel to look into what transpired in the South East, Dogara, on the other hand, has maintained a loud silence on the issue.
Since the face-off between the military and IPOB members, his media adviser, Turaki Hassan, has not issued a statement.
Dogara, unlike Saraki who personally signed a press statement, where he condemned the face-off, has not done same.
A member of South East Caucus in the Green Chamber, who spoke with Daily Sun, in confidence, said they had made frantic efforts to secure a meeting with Dogara, like their counterparts in the Senate, to intervene.
The lawmaker said Dogara’s body language did not suggest that he wanted to entertain anything from South East members on IPOB. He added that it was uncertain if Dogara would allow the leader of South East Caucus move any motion about the proscription of IPOB.
Beside Dogara, it was learnt that some members of the House of Representatives from the North are against plans by their counterparts from the South East to bring a motion to the floor.
In the Senate, it was still too early to predict how events would pan out. Although no lawmaker has openly opposed Saraki’s position on the proscription of IPOB, some lawmakers could however spring surprises when the issue comes up today.
Some lawmakers from the North who spoke with Daily Sun last week, did not oppose Saraki’s position. Bukar Abba Ibrahim who represents Yobe East Senatorial District, in a chat with Daily Sun, said he was fully in support of the position of the Senate President.
According to him, “We need to conduct an investigation and see what went wrong. I fully align with the position of the Senate President. When we resume, the investigation will commence and we will be able to decide what to do next.”
But Senator Kabiru Marafa from Zamfara State, North West, did not take a position. He told Daily Sun on phone that he was currently out of the country and could therefore not take a position on the issue.
“As I speak to you, I am not in the country. I have been away for about two weeks. I am not aware of what is happening in Nigeria. You will have to wait until I come before I can speak on this issue,” he told our correspondent on the phone.
