PDP reps warn against extension of resumption date

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in the House of Representatives yesterday warned against further postponement of the resumption of the legislature. They deplored the series of adjournments the National Assembly had suffered since its inauguration on June 9 as a result of the crisis in the governing All Progressives Congress (APC). The lawmakers, at a press conference in Abuja, accused the APC of taking Nigerians for a ride. Their warning came on a day APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie- Oyegun, raised hope of an imminent end to the crisis in the party caused by disagreement over the leadership of the National Assembly.

The Senate and the House, which ought to resume yesterday, have extended the date for resumption of plenary sessions to July 21, apparently to give APC more time to resolve its internal crisis. But leader of the PDP Caucus in the House, Hon. Leo Ogor (PDP, Delta), dissociated his party from the latest postponement.

He described the postponement as a manifestation of the ruling party’s unpreparedness to govern, adding that the delay in the resumption of full legislative business is having a negative impact on the National Assembly and “becoming very embarrassing.” He said the new resumption date was not negotiable.

“The new resumption day, we want to state with all emphasis, that on that day it should be a day that is non-negotiable because resumption must take place on that day “We are ready to work, we were elected to come and legislate for our people and there are issues that have started having some level of negative impact, even in the society,” he said. He attributed the inability of the parliament to intervene in some of the unfolding issues in the polity, including the raid on houses of the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) to the several postponements and called on the APC leadership to immediately “put its house in order.” Ogor berated the Department of State Services (DSS) for alleged interference in political matters.

His criticism came just as Rivers State caucus in the House, in a petition to the DSS dated July 16, alleged plans by the secret police to persecute, coerce and intimidate electoral and judicial officers involved in to 2015 general elections held in the state and the election petitions that resulted from disputes over the elections.

It said the petition was based on a report that DSS “selectively invited State Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), including the Rivers State REC and other INEC officials as well as members of the various panels handling the elections for questioning, with a view to directly or indirectly coerce and intimidate them and influence the outcome of the various petitions presently before the Election Petitions Tribunals.” Meanwhile, Oyegun yesterday said the APC was striving to resolve the crisis arising from the dispute over the leadership of the National Assembly.

He told reporters yesterday in Benin that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party would meet this week to decide on the matter. He stated that the solution was expected to “address the issue of indiscipline but at the same time create an environment that everyone within the party will find very comfortable to work with.” However, he said inasmuch as the party had accepted as a reality the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as the Senate president and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as House speaker against the wish of the APC leadership, it would take steps to instill discipline among party members.