Senate Silent on Rivers State Emergency, Avoids Deliberation
In what seems a surprising turn of events, the Senate on Wednesday maintained a philosophical silence on the State of Emergency rule in Rivers State, carefully avoiding to deliberate on it even when it was listed as the first Order of the day. The upper legislative chamber did not entertain the matter even when it had initially stepped it down for consideration by 3pm to allow time for the consideration of other items on the Order Paper. When it was time for the matter to come up, the Senate went completely silent on it and adjourned rather abruptly. A day after the proclamation of State of Emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu, all eyes were on the senate and by extension the National Assembly to either give its approval or veto the action of the President. On the official worksheet of the Senate-the Order Paper, the proclamation of the State of Emergency in Rivers State is listed as a motion in the name of the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele as the first Order of the day. When it was time for the issue to be raised, relying on Order 1(b), Bamidele requested that the matter be stepped down. Order 1(b) allows the Senate to regulate itself and based on the merit of it, it was agreed that the matter be stepped down to 3pm to allow Senate sufficient time to consider a few other items on the Order Paper. These include the report of its Committee on Police Affairs for the confirmation of new members of the Police Service Commission. The Senate also spent a considerable period of time on the report of its Committee on Establishment on the confirmation of the appointments of the Chairman and members of the National Assembly Service Commission. By the time it was done with all of the side attractions, it was just 2.36 pm, almost 30 minutes to the time scheduled for the consideration of the proclamation of the State of Emergency rule in Rivers State. To the utter shock of many, the senate simply allowed the matter to slip by, not even a word of explanation was offered as it called off for the day.
Admin | 2025-03-19 18:37:09