Scuffle with the senate: Omo-Agege (middle) flanked by the Police
Omo-Agege likely to resume today as Senate also okays return
It is most likely that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege will resume at the Senate today. The suspended senator boasted on Monday that he would return to the Legislative Chambers on Tuesday following a ruling of a High Court that lifted his suspension.
The Senate also, on Monday said it will allow Omo-Agege to return to fold in obedience to the court judgement.
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However, the Senate said it had appealed the court ruling, which, according to statement issued on Monday night by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Aliyu Sabi-Abdullahi, might be decided upon by the appellate court on Wednesday.
The statement read, “The Senate leadership has been briefed by our lawyers on last Thursday’s judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on whether the Senate has the legal authority to suspend a member for certain misconduct or not.
“We have equally filed an appeal against the judgment of the court and a motion for stay of execution of the judgment at the Court of Appeal.
“As an institution that obeys the law and court orders, the Senate has decided that it will comply with the judgment of the Federal High Court and do nothing to stop Senator Ovie Omo-Agege from resuming in his office and at plenary from tomorrow May 15, 2018, pending the determination of the application for stay of execution.
“The Senate has been advised that since the motion for stay of execution of the Thursday, May 10, 2018, judgment shall be heard and possibly determined on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, we shall therefore respect the subsisting High Court judgment and await the appellate court’s decision on the pending motion.”
The Senate had on April 12, 2018, suspended Omo-Agege for 90 legislative days for dragging the chamber to court over the amendment to the Electoral Act 2010 which seeks to reshuffle the sequence of polls during a general election.
However, a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday nullified the suspension. Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, in the judgment, said the order nullifying the suspension was “with immediate effect.”