Early signs of row in Red Chambers as NASS forced to reconvene

 

Early signs of row in Red Chambers as NASS forced to reconvene

There are early signs, Tuesday morning, that there will be ruckus in Nigeria’s National Assembly as lawmakers are forced to reconvene on the instance of a letter sent in by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The president had requested for virement of the sum of N242 billion for electoral budget before the theatre that ended in shutting down the chambers till September.

But the presidency said Buhari’s government could shut down and the February general election threatened if the National Assembly fails to reconvene early enough.

It is on this note that the National Assembly is reconvened on Tuesday. But signs are ominous that there may be a shot at removing the Senate President, Bukola Saraki who recently announced his defection from the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).

 

There are speculations that Godswill Akpabio, former Minority Leader may replace Saraki since he has perfected plans to join the APC. He has also resigned his position as the Senate Minority Leader.

The National Assembly, in the early hours of Tuesday, was cordoned off by masked officers of the State Security Services. The officers said their actions are ‘order from above’ and initially denied lawmakers entrance into the National Assembly.

The lawmakers were later allowed to enter the chamber.

Some APC senators are of the opinion that Mr Saraki should resign his position on the argument that the Senate should be presided over by a lawmaker from majority party. The APC is still believed to have a slight majority in the Senate.

However, PDP senators and others loyal to Mr Saraki vowed to resist any attempt to remove him.