Senate presidency: 75 senators endorse Mark

Posted by admin Legislature, Senate Thursday, May 12th, 2011

Ahead of the inauguration of the 7th Senate next month and the race for the office of the Senate President, about 75 in-coming Senators both old and new rose from a crucial meeting in Abuja on Wednesday evening declaring support for the candidacy of Senator David Mark.

The group of Senators being coordinated by returnee Senators Zainab Kure, Smart Adeyemi, Ayogu Eze, Ahmed Lawan and Uzamere accordingly advised other possible contestants for the office to drop their ambition for the sake of the unity of the upper chamber of the National Assembly, which, they noted, has so far in the last four years enjoyed the peace needed for legislative duties.
The Senators stressed that even though it is a simple majority that is required for the election of the Senate President, it decided to go the extra mile ahead of the inauguration of the 7th Senate to gather more than two-thirds votes for Senator Mark.

One of the key supporters of the Senator Mark Senate Presidency, Senator Smart Adeyemi told Daily Sun in a telephone chat that the support base of Senator Mark that culminated into the meeting cut across party lines and geo-political zones of the country. Senator Adeyemi further said that with the meeting of 75 in-coming Senators that were all fully in support of Senator Mark without any dissent, it is evident that the coast has become clearer on who the next president of the Senate is already.

Speaking in the same vein, Senator Ahmed Lawan (ANPP Yobe), said that it was time the Senate took the bull by the horn to determine its destiny by choosing a leader legislators knew too well and desire, adding that with the mass support Senator Mark enjoyed amongst Senators, it would be unwise if the ruling PDP make the mistake of zoning the position outside the North Central zone. He stressed that “doing so will be counter-productive and I do not think that the PDP would want to swim against the tide.”
Senator Lawan said that the all-embracing choice of Senator Mark is a clear indication that the next Senate would surely be one body as election would not in any way polarize it into division of loyalists of a group or an individual.

Meanwhile, the Senate has began the process of amending some sections of its standing rules to stop new Senators from aspiring for the position of principal officers. If the proposed amendment scales through passage next Tuesday when it resumes from adjournment, the new Rules would ensure that only ranking Senators would henceforth vie for the Senate principal positions particularly those of presiding officers.
The amendment is expected to stall the alleged ambition of Governors Danjuma Goje of Gombe, Bukola Saraki of Kwara State and all other Senators-elect.

Similarly, the business of the Senate is being made to be in perpetuity as a way of ensuring that Bills and other legislative businesses of the Senate shall continue irrespective of the end of a session.
With the amendment, all passed but not harmonized and pending Bills such as the Petroleum Industry Bills (PIB) and Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill which are still pending at the end of a session of the Senate shall be resumed and proceeded with in a manner as if no adjournment of the Senate had taken place.
While moving the motion for the amendment to the Senate Standing Orders 2007, Senate Majority Leader, Senator Teslim Folarin urged Senators to consider and approve the amendments to the Standing Order by inserting a new rule 3(2) to replace rule 97(1)(f) on ranking..

The proposed amendment to the Senate Rules with specific reference to the nomination and election of President of the Senate, Deputy President of the Senate as well as appointment of Principal Officers, other officers of the Senate and or parliamentary delegation shall be based sorely only ranking of Senators.
Part of the proposed amendment states; “(b) In determining ranking, the following order shall apply: (i) Senators returning based on number of times re-elected, (ii) Senators who had been members of the House of Representatives, (iii) Senators who have been members of a State House of Assembly or any other Legislative House; (iv) Senators elected as Senators for the first time.”

Similarly, Section 97(f) of the Senate Rules which is being proposed for deletion also states; “provided that nominations of Senators to serve as Principal Officers and Chairmen of Standing Committees or any parliamentary delegations shall be in accordance with the ranking of Senators in which member(s) previously elected into the Senate are granted precedence.” In the same vein, the business of the Senate is expected to continue from one session to another as contained in Rule 111 of the Senate Rules in such a way that legislative business of the Senate shall not close.

The proposed rules further states; “In same manner if there is a Bill pending before the Senate, it shall be as if the adjournment of the Senate had taken place and all papers refereed to Committees and not reported upon at the close of session of the Senate and shall be returned to the office of the Clerk of the Senate and retained until the next session of the Senate when they shall be returned to the several committees to which they had previously been referred.”

The amendment expected to be approved next week Tuesday is to foreclose the rule that any bill or any other business of the Senate that was not concluded shall start de novo (afresh).

-Sunwp_posts