Senate has approved President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s proclamation of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
Upon receiving the executive communication of the proclamation from President Tinubu, the Senate read it at the beginning of Thursday’s sitting.
As such, Senator Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa West) rose on a point of order to draw attention to the specific provisions of the Senate rules, saying:
“As senators, we are guided by two key documents: the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Senate Standing Orders.
“Specifically, Order 135 of our rules outlines the procedure for handling a state of emergency proclamation.”
He further stated that the rule requires the President, in a closed session, to brief the Senate on the circumstances leading to the decision.
The Senate President upheld the order, and the Majority Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, asked members to support referring the matter to a closed session for consideration. The Senate then proceeded into a closed-door session to discuss the issue.
This has denied public access to details of the discussion, including the voice vote. The only available information is the announcement made by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on the matter.
Meanwhile, Shortly after, the President of the Senate Godswil Akpabio announced their decision on the proclamation, saying the senate has approved the proclamation of president Bola Ahmed Tinubu as contained in the document of state of emergency in Rivers state
He further explained that the approval was based on the powers conferred on the Senate by Section 305, Subsection 2 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), under the following conditions:
The Senate directed Mr. President to review the directives given in the state of emergency proclamation and not to terminate it at any time within a period of no less than six months.
The Senate further resolved that Section 11, Subsection 4 be invoked for both chambers, granting the authority to constitute an ad hoc committee to oversee the administration of Rivers State henceforth.
The senate also resolved that a committee of well meaning Nigerians be constitute to reconcile the waring functions in Rivers state.
Cov/Bashir M
