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Two senators exchange blows
COSMAS EKPUNOBI,
Abuja
IT
was a show of shame as decorum was thrown to the winds yesterday when two
senators, Mrs. Iyabo Anisulowo (Ogun) and Alhaji Isa Mohammed (Niger) publicly
exchanged blows over an alleged sharing of funds allocated to the committee on
local government affairs.
While Sen. Anisulowo, a former minister is
the committee chairman, Sen. Mohammed is her deputy.
Trouble started when the six feet tall
Senator Mohammed publicly slapped Mrs. Anisulowo after she could not immediately
provide answers to his enquiry on what happened to N1.2 million committee fund.
The female senator, on the heels of the slap, promptly physically responded to
the attack by Mohammed, resulting in an ugly scene.
Senator Mohammed who accused his boss of
running the committee�s affairs like her private estate, also accused the
chairman of embezzling the committee�s funds.
The warring senators were later separated
by the combined effort of Senator Idris Kuta (Niger) and a team of security
operatives at the National Assembly.
The thundering slap attracted scores of
persons to the scene of the incident, which was very close to the main entrance
door to the National Assembly complex.
Senator Mohammed was alleged to have
confronted Mrs. Anisulowo to know what happened to the committee�s fund,
especially the sums of N500,000 and N700,000 respectively, voted for particular
purposes.
Eyewitness said that Senator Mohammed was
further provoked when Senator Anisulowo could not provide answers to the
enquiry.
Senate leadership, through the Deputy
Leader, Senator Jonathan Zwingina described the incident as "very unfortunate."
Senator Anisulowo, in a swift reaction
said she had reported her deputy to both the police and the Senate leadership
for necessary action.
According to her, Senator Mohammed had
confronted her over the committee�s affairs.
Initially, when reporters met the
Divisional Police Officer (DPO), National Assembly Police station, Mr. Aliyu
Gwandu, he said the matter had not been officially reported but Anisulowo
claimed that she lodged a report later.
Meanwhile, Senate is seeking to acquire
the power to sack any erring minister as the bill for confirmation and
withdrawal of same for nominees for public office passed second reading
yesterday in the chamber.
The proposed law requires the President
to, among other things, forward the list of such nominees alongside their
respective portfolios to the Senate for confirmation.
The bill is coming barely a month after
the Senate had asked President Olusegun Obasanjo to sack the minister of the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, for his alleged
inappropriate comment.
Sponsored by the Deputy Majority Leader of
the Senate, Jonathan Zwingina and two others, the bill is an attempt to further
check all ministers, ambassadors and other public appointees.
However, Senator Zwingina told newsmen
yesterday, that the bill was not meant to witch-hunt any minister or government
appointee.
According to him, the bill is seeking to
empower the Senate to confirm or withdraw its confirmation of any erring
minister, ambassador or public officer.
The bill read in part: "subject to the
provisions of this Act, a person holding the office of a minister of the
government of the federation or who is a federal appointee, to which this Act
relates, as the case may be, shall vacate his or her office upon an address
supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate praying that the person so vacate
his or her office for inability to discharge the functions of that office for
misconduct."
Section 10 of the bill also mandates the
President to assign portfolios to the nominees and such job shall not be changed
by the President except with the consent of the Senate through a simple majority
vote.
According to the sponsors the bill
essentially seeks to establish a framework for the procedure and
operationalising of the constitutional provisions.
Other senators, including Mamman Ali, Mohammed Ibrahim,
Udo Udoma and Mohammed Ankar said that since the Senate has the right to confirm
presidential nominees, the Upper House should as well have the power to withdraw
such confirmation when the appointee in question errs.
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