The representative of Sokoto South Senatorial District, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, has said that not up to 73 senators were present when the Red Chamber approved the request of President Bola Tinubu for emergency rule in Rivers State.
According to the constitution, the votes of two-third of the Senate, which is 72 or 73, is required to give effect to such a request.
However, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives said the Senate did not have that number of senators in the chamber when the voice vote to accede to the President’s request for emergency rule in Rivers State was passed.
Tambuwal, a former Sokoto State governor, told Sunday Sun in Abuja in an interview: “I will be speaking to you from the point of view of being a lawyer, a member of the Body of Benchers and a life Bencher for that matter and not necessarily as a lawmaker who is a member of the 10th Senate.
“And, in addition to that, possibly my experience as a former presiding officer, former Speaker of the House of Representatives who presided over a matter such as this in 2013.
Also Read
“Section 305 of the Constitution is very clear.
“It is unambiguous, the language is very plain, of the Constitution as to first, how the president can declare a state of emergency and what is required of the legislature, the two chambers – both the Senate and the House of Representatives before passing such a resolution.
“What is required is that you must obtain and have two-thirds of all the members, of either of the two chambers, in support of the resolution.
“State of emergency was declared under President (Olusegun) Obasanjo…two thirds had to be garnered, in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
“State of emergency was declared during the administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in 2013, in Borno State.
“Also in Adamawa and Yobe.
“We had to garner two thirds.
“So, what stops the current National Assembly from making reference to its own precedents that are domiciled within its own library, within its own records?
“I can’t understand that.
“So, it’s part of the problem.”
Post Views: 42
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
