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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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Senate ties passage of Labour bill, others to El-Rufai's sack
THE move for the removal of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, entered its second round yesterday.
The Senate continued its strike, refusing to deal with any other business except to consider President Olusegun Obasanjo's response to its request to sack the minister.
In a letter to the Senate, Obasanjo urged understanding and patience, asking that he should be given time to consider the matter.
After considering the response at a closed-session, it
closed shop and again left the contentious Trade Union
Act Amendment Bill 2004 unattended to.
Its message at a press conference was clear: Until
President Olusegun Obasanjo sacks El-Rufai, as demanded by the Senate, no bill from the executive arm of government would be attended to.
The Senate also promised to release video and
other documented evidence to show that El-Rufai
breached government's financial regulations and his
response to the Senate's enquiries.
One of the documents, a Senator told The Guardian, was
a letter written by the World Bank that it could not accept the minister's request that two of his staff, who are at the centre of his travails, could not be paid from the bank's funds for supporting privatisation because they are not qualified to enjoy special salaries financed by the bank.
As at yesterday evening, the documents were being reproduced in what one Senator said would be "a revelation of how our funds are being spent."
Briefing journalists on the decisions taken at a closed-door executive session, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, flanked by Senators Abubakar Sodangi and Sule Yari Gandi, disclosed that the Senate considered the President's plea and resolved that it would not shift ground on its position that El-Rufai must be removed.
It was gathered that El-Rufai was on the political road between Tuesday and Wednesday reaching out to Senators to manage the damage his statement caused. One Senator at the closed-session, was said to have told his colleagues that he asked the minister why he would not resign.
"He told us that the minister told him he had offered to resign but that the President advised him against it," a Senator told The Guardian yesterday.
Insisting on its earlier stand on the issue, the Senate set up a three-man ad-hoc committee to write a reply to Obasanjo's letter asking the Senate to give him time to consider the request. The ad-hoc committee is headed by the Deputy Senate Leader, Jonathan Zwingina, with Senators Uche Chkwumerije and Olorunnimbe Mamora, as members.
It was gathered that the decision to set up the letter writing committee followed the suggestion of a principal officer of the Senate.
The upper house also set up another committee to relate with the press on this issue. Senator Ike Ekweremadu heads that committee while Senators Abubakar Sodangi and Sule Yari Gandi are members.
He said the upper house would go the whole hug in ensuring that its resolution on the FCT minister was actualised, adding that "the Senate represents the whole Nigerians and when you insult such an institution, you are insulting the entire Nigerians."
A member of the Senate press relation committee who was also at the briefing, Sodangi, disclosed that the Senate had decided not work on any of the bills from the executive until the FCT minister was removed.
Said Sodangi: "I can assure you that going by our present stand, this Senate will never treat any executive bill until the President honours our request and removes the FCT minister."
President Obasanjo, for the second time in two days, yesterday wrote a letter pleading with the senators to give him time to consider the implications of the issues in the request made by the Senate. The President's letter, dated September 2, 2004, with reference number PRES/134, reads: "I write to acknowledge receipt of your letter of August 31, 2004 titled: Complaint Against the Minister of the FCT, Malam Nasir el-Rufai and to thank you for your letter.
"In considering your letter, I note two aspects, the constitutional function of the Senate through its Committee on Public Accounts, and the unsavoury and unwarranted language of the said minister against the senators.
"The report of the Committee on Public Accounts has got to my hand and I want to assure the Senate that appropriate corrective action will be taken.
"In my capacity as the President of Nigeria, I have responsibility, among others, to protect the integrity of the Senate, the National Assembly and all democratic institutions to nurture and strengthen our fledgling democracy. In this regard, I take serious view of the language of the said minister as reflected in my letter of August 31, 2004.
"May I also hereby request you and the distinguished Senate for greater understanding, patience and time for me to consider all the implications of this issue to enable me take appropriate action on your resolution."
It was learnt that some senators were working on a bill that would lead to the removal of the minister if the President failed to heed the advice to remove him.
One option is to cause minister's appointment to be reconfirmed or amend the FCT law in a way that would automatically lead to the removal of the minister. "If the President refuses to sign the bill, his veto will be over-ridden; this is our back-up position in this matter," a source said.
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