The
Senator representing Zamfara Central Senatorial District, Kabir Marafa,
said on Sunday that the Senate President lacked both moral and
constitutional rights to summon the Permanent Secretary, Federal
Ministry of Finance, for briefing on the state of the economy.
Marafa,
the spokesperson for the Senate Unity Forum, who stated this in a
statement issued in Abuja, noted that since Saraki had allegedly
violated some sections of the constitution to emerge as senate president
on June 9, he cannot accuse another person of committing the same
offence he had committed.
Our
correspondent had reported that the decision of the Permanent Secretary
of the Federal Ministry of Finance and other top officials to decline an
invitation extended to them by the leadership of the National Assembly
for a briefing on the state of the nation’s economy last week was
currently brewing a major face-off between the two arms of government.
Our
correspondent had also reported that the Chief of Staff to the Senate
President, Senator Issa Galaudu, and the Clerk to the National
Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa, wrote separate letters to the
permanent secretary but were both allegedly ignored.
The
permanent secretary, according to sources close to the leadership of
the Senate, was said to have shunned the meeting because there was no
clearance from the Presidency to honour the briefing.
The
Clerk’s letter, which was copied the Head of Service of the Federation
and obtained by our correspondent read, “I refer to our letter Ref. No.
NASS/S//SP/ COS/CORRP/15/1/06 of June 29, 2015 on the above subject
matter and your text message of July 7, 2015, to the Chief of Staff to
the Senate President, signifying your inability to honour the
invitation.
“Your
action is a deliberate violation of the provisions of Section 67(2) of
the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999( as amended).
“You are,
therefore, requested to appear before the Senate Leadership as contained
in your aforementioned letter on Wednesday July 8, 2015 at
2.00pm prompt.
“The third
letter to the Permanent Secretary, which also insisted on the
importance of the meeting, was written by the Chief of Staff to the
Senate President. Galaudu’s letter, which was dated July 8, with
reference number, NASS /8 th /S/SP/COS/CORRP/15/2/07, states, ‘Please
note that your text message of yesterday, Tuesday, July 7, 2015, which I
received by hours of 20:02 pm, suggesting that you would not
make today’s meeting, is unacceptable.’
“This is an affront to the President of
the Senate and its leadership. The provision of Section 67(2) of the
1999 Constitution (as amended), is very clear and unambiguous in this
regard. Hence, you do not need the permission of any official before you
attend or appear before the Senate.
“Consequently, I have the instructions of the President of the Senate
and leadership that you do spear before them on the date and time
earlier communicated to you, Wednesday, July 8, 2015 by 11am prompt. It
is my belief that you will comply unconditionally.”Investigations by our correspondent further revealed that the the Permanent Secretary had yet to appear before the senate leadership nor responded to the letters from both the National Assembly management and the office of the Senate President.
But Marafa, in his statement, accused
Saraki of violating the same constitution which he claimed the permanent
secretary had run foul of.
The senator said, “I read with open-mouth amazement, the letter
written by both the Chief of Staff to the Senate President and that of
the Clerk to the National Assembly on the refusal or inability of a
government functionary to honour the invitation of the leadership of the
senate.“They were saying the refusal violates section 67(2) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Can somebody please tell them that they are guilty of similar, if not higher, offence?
“They, infact, not only violated the constitution to ascend to the Senate leadership, they murdered it !”
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