Mace snatching: Governor Wike Alleged, was Planned by FG
Gov. Wike
On Sunday, Governor, Nyesom Wike, said that the invasion of the Senate was planned and programmed by the Federal Government to take away the leadership of the Senate.
In a statement that was made by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to Gov. Wike on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu. Governor Wike also said that the Federal Government wanted to make use of security agencies in order to frame him by planting someone to claim that he had received $3m from the Rivers State governor.
Wike made this statement during 105th Annual Convention of the Nigerian Baptist Convention at Ndele, Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State on Sunday.
He said,
“THEY (FG) PLOTTED TO OVERTHROW THE LEADERSHIP OF THE SENATE, BUT THEY FAILED. WHAT YOU SAW WAS A HORRIBLE DESIGN TO REMOVE THE SENATE LEADERSHIP.
IF YOU KNOW THE SECURITY ARCHITECTURE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, NOBODY CAN GO IN EASILY AND LEAVE EASILY WITHOUT THE GATES BEING SHUT. THESE PEOPLE ENTERED AND LEFT UNCHALLENGED.
WHEN THE THE SENATE GAVE THE POLICE A 24-HOUR ULTIMATUM TO FIND THE MACE, THE NIGERIA POLICE BECAME SO EFFICIENT THAT THEY TRACED THE MACE TO WHERE IT WAS LEFT UNDER THE BRIDGE.”
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) who is a human rights lawyer, said that the mace was not required for parliamentary proceedings in Nigeria to be valid.
In a statement, he said that by virtue of section 54 of the Constitution either of two houses of the National Assembly was already competent to sit and carry out proceedings once the quorum of the members was being formed. Falana said,
“WHILE THE POLICE INVESTIGATION INTO THE EMBARRASSING INVASION OF THE SENATE IS IN PROGRESS, IT IS PERTINENT TO POINT OUT THAT THE MACE IS NOT A PREREQUISITE FOR PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS IN NIGERIA.
IN OTHER WORDS, THE PROCEEDINGS OF A LEGISLATIVE HOUSE CANNOT BE INVALIDATED BECAUSE OF THE ABSENCE OF A MACE”.
Describing the mace as a colonial legacy which was an integral part of the Nigerian parliament in 1960 when the Queen of England was Nigeria’s Head of State, Femi Falana said,
“OUR LEGISLATORS SHOULD STOP ATTACHING UNDUE IMPORTANCE TO THE CONVENTIONS OF THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT.”
Wike added that it was so unfortunate that President Muhammadu Buhari has claimed that Nigerian youths were very lazy while he was speaking abroad.
He said no investor would want to invest their resources in a country where the youth doesn’t have the productive capacity and summoned Nigerians to work towards a new administration at the federal level in 2019.
