Battle to return Oyofo as Senate Chief Whip begins
From Alifa Daniel, Abuja
PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh, will this morning address a meeting of the 18 members of the South-South caucus in the Senate as part of a "shuttle diplomacy" to restore former chief whip, Victor Kassim Oyofo, who was removed from office last Thursday.
He was not even given the benefit of defending himself before the caucus and the enlarged Senate.
Tomorrow, the acclaimed political leader of the South-South geo-political zone and Acting Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, will have a dinner with the Senators from the zone.
Both party bigwigs are expected to plead with senators to reverse Oyofo's removal.
Ogbeh, in addition, is expected to deplore the removal of the Edo North senator without recourse to the party hierarchy.
Known for frankness, the senator in the eye of the storm declined comments yesterday.
"Please, I will appreciate if you don't involve me in this for now," Oyofo said.
But one of the senators named in a document as one of the four brains behind Oyofo's ouster, David Brigidi, told The Guardian on phone yesterday that he had no regrets for the role he played in the drama that led to the removal of the former Senate Chief Whip, whom he described as arrogant in his dealings with his colleagues in the South-South Zone which he headed.
Oyofo was sacked by the Senate based on a letter signed by 13 senators from the South-South Zone asking for his removal.
A subsisting unwritten rule in the Senate allows for the removal of a principal officer who occupies his office on account of being the leader of his geo-political zone's caucus in the upper house.
The Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, and his deputy, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, are exempted from the rule introduced after its retreat in Port Harcourt early this year.
The senators who signed the document for Oyofo's removal were Lee Maeba, John Brambaifa, John Azuta-Mbata, Brigidi, Ibiapuye Martyns-Yellowe, Bob Ekarika, Victor Ndoma-Egba, Daisy Danjuma, James Manager, Udoma Udo-Udoma, Rufus Inatimi Spiff, Bassey Ewa Henshaw and Effiong Bob.
Senators Felix Ibru, Oserhiemen Osunbor, Patrick Osakwe and Greg Ngaji did not sign the letter.
Brigidi debunked allegations contained in a document circulated to journalists yesterday that he allegedly collected a huge sum of money from four South-South governors to facilitate Oyofo's removal.
"It is absolute trash, it is rubbish. If they are sure of their facts, they should come out in the open and make the allegations," he said.
According to him, he is not even on good terms with his governor.
Brigidi added: "My position is clear on this matter. I have never liked the Chief Whip from day one. He is arrogant and I cannot stand people like him. He tells us clearly that he is from the oil industry. He moves against our interest for the zone. And I can tell you that contrary to the claims that I was approached by some people from the seat of power, nobody has reached out to me to reverse his removal."
Another senator whose name was mentioned among the quartet that plotted Oyofo's downfall described the allegations made against him as ludicrous. He (Lee Maeba) said yesterday: "I am clean, I am very clean. I don't do corrupt and unlawful things."
Azuta-Mbata and Daisy Danjuma could not be reached yesterday.
The anonymous document had hinted that senior government and party officials had persuaded the senators to reverse Oyofo's removal but many of the South-South lawmakers said there was no going back.
Among other charges, Oyofo is being accused of working against the interest of the Niger Delta area, in addition to taking sides with top party officials and a state governor in the replacement of slain Chief Aminasoari Dikibo with Chief Godspower Ake.
Ake was named by PDP as the new vice chairman of the South-South geo-political zone of the party.
His removal pitched the governors of Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states against their Rivers counterparts, Dr. Peter Odili and Chief Tony Anenih.
On the eve of Oyofo's removal, he had argued against Senator Ibiapuye Martyns-Yellowe's Minimum Social Responsibility Bill to amend the Petroleum Act to replace the ad-hoc memoranda of understanding which oil companies are forced into by their host communities.
In addition, the bill would compel the oil companies to establish administrative head offices in their states of operations so that they would be close to their host communities and pay taxes to such states.
Furthermore, the bill seeks to legislate on a realistic and equitable allocation of employment and business opportunities to indigenes of hosts communities, local councils and states in a manner that all unskilled labour and contracts are left for indigenes of the area.
The bill also wants 50 per cent of semi-skilled jobs and contracts reserved for indigenes of the host state.`
