Omo-Agege attacks Saraki, House of Reps over fresh suspension moves

The Delta Central Senator, Ovie Omo-Agege, has reacted to a resolution of the House of Representatives to suspend him for 180 days.

Mr Omo-Agege in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday also attacked Senate President, Bukola Saraki, for his alleged role in the suspension move he described as illegal.

The two have been at loggerheads since Mr Omo-Agege accused his colleagues of working against Mr Buhari by adopting the amendment to section 25 of electoral act outlining a change in the sequence of elections.

For his statement, Mr Omo-Agege was suspended for 90 days following recommendations by a Senate committee.

The suspension was nullified by the court but the senator soon enter another trouble when he was fingered in the invasion of the Senate which led to the theft of the mace.

To ascertain his role in the incident, a joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives was drafted.

Betty Apiafi (Rivers-PDP), Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee, laid the report at last week Tuesday’s plenary session, prescribing a suspension of 180 days for Mr Agege.

The legislators also called for the immediate prosecution of Mr Omo-Agege (APC, Delta Central) and six other suspects on charges of treasonable felony and assault occasioning harm, conspiracy to steal, and actual theft of the mace.

Mr Omo-Agege in his latest statement described the move as ‘utter lawlessness’ orchestrated by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki who he described as an “intolerant dictator.”

The senator said the case of the invasion is criminal and already being heard in a court of law and there was no need of investigating such at the National Assembly.

Read the full statement below:

MY ADVICE TO THE HOUSE OF REPS ON ITS PURPORTED RESOLUTION TO SUSPEND ME: EAT IT OR BETTER STILL, SHOVE IT.

It has been brought to my notice that on Tuesday 10th July, 2018, the House of Representative purportedly resolved to suspend me, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (APC), from the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for 180 legislative days. The said resolution was made pursuant to a certain Ad-hoc Committee investigative report presented by Hon. Betty Apiafa (PDP or CUPP) on my alleged involvement in an incident that occurred in the Senate Chamber which led to the removal of the Senate’s mace by some persons on April 18, 2018.

Without much ado, I state without equivocation whatsoever that the purported House resolution is just an act of utter lawlessness by one ordinary first among equals in the Senate who prides himself as a most intolerant dictator. The Urhobo people that I represent with honour in the Senate do not respect oppressors or dictators. To this extent, I will never ever bow down to a lawless emperor. Instead, I visit all the contempt, scorn, and disdain in this world upon the supposed resolution, especially its originator, knowing that the very good men and women of that most Honourable House did not willfully make such a manifestly inoperable and laughable resolution. Very soon, one would soon receive similar disrespectful resolutions from the Kwara State House of Assembly or Local Government Legislative Houses in Kwara State where he prides himself without justification as a demi-god and now seeks to do so on the national stage. Before then, I must ask those who were deceived to make this so-called resolution and the emperor in the Senate who lacks the civilized mind, wisdom and capacity to manage ordinary democratic dissent to eat the worthless resolution or better still, shove it.

With humility, I am a good student of constitutional law unlike the one who knows nothing about the law yet misuses our legislative processes and instruments to violently violate my rights as a Senator of the Federal Republic duly elected by my people to represent them in the Red Chamber just like him. Not being a member of the House of Representatives, I cannot be subjected to any form of investigation or disciplinary action by the House. Very importantly, by the clear letters and living spirit of Sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the National Assembly has no power whatsoever to investigate any alleged crime. The removal of the Senate’s mace was described in the Senate as a “heinous crime”. For this reason and much more, it is a matter now under an active criminal investigation by the police. Usurping the constitutional functions of the police, Hon. Betty Apafia ignored this fact and elected to submit a so-called report on this incident and inflicted incalculable harm on my person thereby. There must be consequences for this.

Furthermore, it has been decided in a plethora of judicial decisions that legislative houses cannot suspend their members. Some of these cases are: Hon. Danna v. Bauchi House of Assembly, Dinno Melaye & Ors v. Speaker House of Representatives, Sen. Ali Ndume v. Senate President, Hon. Abdulmumin Jubril v. Speaker, House of Representative and, of course my recent case, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege vs The Senate President. And in this instance, the matters are already before a court of competent jurisdiction and therefore subjudice. It is elementary that parties are not supposed to take steps to force fait accompli on a court that is already seised of issues between such parties.

But some would rather turn the Senate to a Banana Republic by arrogating to themselves powers they do not have and acting with disgusting lawlessness and brazenness. The irony is that some of these same people were allowed to enjoy the full benevolence that our legal system provides by remaining ‘unsuspended’ or ‘unremoved’ from their legislative positions when they had challenges with the law. Even much more ironical is that these same intolerant dictators often dare to unjustly accuse our dear President Muhammadu Buhari of some fairy dictatorship!

In all, let me say that if they ever assumed that I will be a victim of the travesty of justice, violation of our constitution, and untrammeled impunity being piped from the Senate by a dictator, they are dead wrong. My people and I will lose nothing as a result of this sickening dictatorship in the senate. This is a fight the Senate dictator and drummer must lose. He has bitten more than he can chew. Our Constitution and constitutionality will prevail in this, even as his attempt to alter the sequence of elections failed when I joined men and women of good legal knowledge and conscience to defeat it and for which he has picked a permanent fight of vindictiveness against my person and the Urhobo Nation that I continue to represent with dignity.