Determined to break the ranks of lawmakers urging the ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua to transfer presidential powers to his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, in line with Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, the leadership of the House of Representatives is dangling automatic tickets for the 2011 elections before those elected on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform.
The illegal move, which does not take into account the electorate, is part of the decision reached at a meeting in Abuja last week between the leadership of the National Assembly and that of PDP.
At the meeting, which took place at the instance of the PDP leadership, were the Senate President, David Mark, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, and a few other principal officers of both chambers. The national chairman of the PDP, Victor Ogbulafor, led the party officials.
There are 270 PDP members in the House, though many of them joined other members of the opposition parties who are canvassing for the temporary transfer of power to Mr. Jonathan, pending the return of the President from his medical trip.
The move, it was learnt, is aimed at consolidating the narrow victory last Wednesday of the pro-Yar’Adua group in the lower chamber when a motion was brought by a member of the pro-Jonathan group, Mohammed Sani Abdu.
Mr. Abdu, a member of the All Nigeria Peoples Party from Bauchi State, had in the motion urged the House to demand a letter from the President and transfer power to the Vice President until the return of the President from Saudi Arabia where he is receiving treatment.
The motion, which was greeted with rowdiness and intrigues, was defeated. Some members of the pro-Jonathan group, however, accused Mr. Bankole of contributing largely to the defeat. The Speaker has since denied the claim through his media aide.
Some members who have been approached with automatic tickets but who did not want their names mentioned, confirmed yesterday that the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, is the arrowhead of the automatic ticket campaign.
One of them said that the Speaker sent a principal officer from his geo-political zone to urge him to change camp and join the pro-Yar’Adua group, but he rebuffed them.
“In the national interest”
“Yes, they are approaching us but we are saying no,” the member said.
“There comes a time when you do things in the national interest. It is not about Yar’Adua, it is not about Jonathan. It is about the country, the constitution and the sustenance of our unity and democracy.”
The Speaker was sighted in the office as early as 9 am yesterday, a development described as unusual. The House does not sit in plenary on Mondays.
Contacted, the House spokesperson, Eseme Eyiboh, said that he was not aware that the leadership is dangling automatic tickets before members.
The Special Adviser to the Speaker on Communications, Kayode Odunaro, also said he was not aware, but noted that only the PDP could give election tickets to its members who want to run for election, and not the Speaker.
On the presence of the Speaker at the office for most part of yesterday, Mr. Odunaro said it is not unusual, stressing, “When he has work to do, he comes early like that some days.”
House delegation in Saudi Arabia
Meanwhile, Baba Shehu Agaie, the leader of the six-member delegation appointed by the House to visit Mr. Yar’Adua told NEXT in a telephone interview yesterday that it would meet with the President tomorrow, Wednesday.
Mr. Agaie, who is also the deputy House leader, said the delegation got to Jeddah on Monday and has given its itinerary to the Nigeria ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
On why a member of the delegation, Nnenna Ukeje, did not make the trip, Mr. Agaie, from Niger State, explained that she missed the trip because she refused to use her diplomatic passport.
“It is true she did not come to Saudi Arabia with us. What happened was that she submitted green passport to the House but we advised her to use her diplomatic passport because we are on diplomatic mission but she refused. Even the Saudi Embassy wrote her on this issue but she refused.”
However, sources said Mrs. Ukeje, a member from Abia State, was dropped from the trip because she was one of the lawmakers who signed the letter asking Mr. Yar’Adua to transmit a letter to the federal legislature and transfer power to Mr. Jonathan.
When contacted, Mrs. Ukeje said she will address a press conference on the matter on Tuesday.
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