The House of Representatives erupted into chaos yesterday as the
visit of the Alhaji Kawu Baraje-led New Peoples Democratic Party, nPDP,
National Working Committee, NWC, and the dissenting seven governors ended in
fisticuffs.
The fight erupted among the pro-Baraje and pro-Tukur members of
the House.
The National Chairman of the ‘old PDP’, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur,
who was scheduled to brief the House, was forced to call off his scheduled
visit to avoid a clash with the Baraje-led PDP members.
The Barajeled members in the House yesterday claimed that they
had risen to 108 from 57 members, their leader, Hon. Andrew Uchendu
(nPDPRivers) said.
The storm started on the floor immediately after the Speaker,
Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, read a letter from the New PDP signed by the National
Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, announcing the planned visit of Baraje,
the NWC and the aggrieved governors to address the House’s PDP caucus.
The announcement caused disagreement in the House as both the
‘old’ and ‘new’ PDP members engaged one another in a shouting march. For over
20 minutes, the chamber was tense with expletives as lawmakers hurled
expletives at each others with some leaving their seats to clusters around the
Speaker, his deputy and other principal officers to either protest or welcome the
Baraje team.
As soon as nerves became calm, Tambuwal explained that the
leadership of the House decided to welcome both Baraje and Tukur at their
behest only for Tukur to withdraw his letter of request later. “I think I need
to make two points clear.
One, there was a communication from our leader, Alhaji Bamanga
Tukur, on the same issue; he wanted to come and address the PDP caucus. Now,
Tukur withdrew his letter only this morning and I couldn’t have read his letter
having withdrawn it. “The whole thing is, we are not going to receive them on
the floor.
He (Baraje) will address us at 3p.m. in Room 028 new building.”
Baraje eventually arrived at 3.47p.m. where Tambuwal and the House leadership
were already seated to receive the factional leader. He was accompanied by the
seven rebel governors, members of his NWC and some senators.
But shortly after the proceedings commenced, Hon. Henry Ofongo
(old PDP- Bayelsa) along with Hon. Patrick Asadu (old PDP- Enugu), Hon.
Kingsley Chinda (old PDP-Rivers), Hon. Betty Appiafi (old PDPRivers) and other
pro-Tukur members came into the hall, shouting ‘point of order’, ‘no way’,
‘Bamanga is our man’ and ‘Na Bamanga we know,’ as commotion enveloped the hall.
This angered the pro-Baraje lawmakers led by Hon. Aminu Suleiman
and Hon. Asita Honourable as they grabbed Ofongo by the collars, attempted to
gag him and stop him from proceeding to where Baraje, the governors and other
members of his entourage were seated.
The commotion that ensued lasted for almost 20 minutes as the pro-Tukur
lawmakers, made up of Bethel Amadi (old PDPImo), Friday Itulah (old PDP-Edo),
Betty Apiafi (old PDP-Rivers), Bitrus Kaze (old PDP-Plateau), Samson Okwu (old
PDP-Benue), Tijanni Yusuf (old PDP-Kogi), Kingsley Chinda (old PDPRivers) and
others disrupted proceedings at the meeting.
However, House Leader, Hon. Mulikat Akande-Adeola, went ahead
with her welcome remarks, saying that she hoped the visit would serve as the
beginning of the resolution of the crisis in the party.
Tambuwal said democracy could only prosper with a strong
democratic culture, adding that “democracy belongs to all Nigerians and not the
politicians alone so they should refrain from heating up the system.”
But the pro-Tukur lawmakers continued shouting throughout as
Baraje addressed the gathering. Leader of the New PDP House caucus, Hon. Andrew
Uchendu, told journalists after the event that the action of the pro-Tukur
lawmakers was characteristic of “the impunity and lawlessness associated with
Tukur and his exco”.
He said they were the authentic PDP as their membership had
risen to 108, thus controlling the majority in the House.
Uchendu said despite series of meetings between the factions,
“there is no ceasefire,” and that the war between the factions would continue.
Tambuwal cautioned politicians to shun comments capable of heating the polity.
“We must abstain from making comments capable of heating the
polity unnecessarily. I want to caution that Nigerians need a peaceful
atmosphere to conduct their businesses,” he said.
He also enjoined politicians to place national interest above
personal interest. “Let us therefore make conscious effort to allow national
interest take the driving seat and not our personal ambitions”.
According to him, members of the House are concerned about the development
in the country, especially the face-off within the PDP.
He noted that the development had exposed the status of culture
of intra-party democracy and inter-party intolerance.
The Speaker said that democracy could only flourish where there
were strong political parties and well developed institutions and an enduring
democratic culture.
Earlier, the members had unanimously passed a vote of confidence
on Tambuwal and his leadership dispelling rumours of impeachment and
reaffirming their unity.
This followed a motion under matters of urgent national
importance sponsored by Hon. Kingsley Chinda (old PDP-Rivers) and supported by
Hon. Uzor Azubuike (old PDP- Abia).
The Baraje-led PDP was also in the Senate yesterday where they
had an audience with the Senate President, David Mark who counselled the
splinter group not to continue to stoke crisis within the PDP but to make peace
with the leadership of the party so that the party would return to its old
family status. Mark, who spoke while responding to the address of Baraje, also
pledged his loyalty to the Tukur-led PDP.
He also assured that he would not allow the crisis in the party
to filter into the National Assembly, stressing that the legislators as the
representatives of the people of Nigeria should not be involved in unnecessary
political crisis.
All the seven splinter governors of Rivers, Adamawa, Kano,
Jigawa, Kwara, Kano, Sokoto and Niger states [Rotimi Amaechi, Murtala Nyako,
Rabiu Kwankwaso, Sule Lamido, Abdufatah Ahmed, Aliyu Wamakko and Aliyu
Babangida, respectively] were on the visit. Mark said: “I will remain in PDP. I
will not allow this house to fall on anybody. Dialogue will always bring
progress.
There is need for this dialogue and meetings for us to exchange
ideas. “My prayer is to have a united National Assembly and this unity should
translate into the two chambers.
I have not declared any seat vacant and I am not prepared to
declare any. I will support fairness, justice and equity. “Whatever happens, we
should remain one PDP.
We should not pour fuel when there is fire burning. We all admit
that there is problem and we are out to solve them.” In an address, Baraje
stated that PDP had in recent times started declining in its democratic image.
This, he said, is mainly due to lack of internal democracy as a
result of undue interference of the Presidency, especially as it concerns the
election of national officers, which has affected the quality and style of
leadership that now takes pride in illegal dissolutions of state party
structures and other acts of impunity.
He said it was in line with this that some governors, former
governors, some party elders and indeed, members of the National Assembly
decided to act to rescue the party from undemocratic tendencies and by
extension, save the country from collapse.
Baraje said most of these issues, which included the crisis of
the Rivers PDP, the suspension of Governor Amaechi from the party, the election
of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, the unconstitutional dissolution of the
Adamawa State Executive Committee of the party and the exclusion of important
stakeholders from the running of the party and government have already been
reported to Tukur and President Jonathan, but unfortunately, no serious action
has been
National mirror
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