Senate resumes in plenary today to consider
last Friday’s apology by the embattled FCT minister, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, even as indications are that the upper chamber may let the minister off the hook.
Daily Trust gathered last Friday when the FCT minister made the famous apology at the PDP national secretariat that the PDP hierarchy has mounted intense pressure on its Senators who constitute the majority in the Senate to accept the apology and allow the issue to die naturally.
The party it was learnt, decided on this course of act-ion, to stave off any further embarrassment which the el-Rufai saga has turned out to be. Similarly, we understand that the minister himself has intensified his lobbying of Senators to garner support for the acceptance of his apology.
Speaking at the Friday news conference, el-Rufai had said:” I did not mean what I said and certainly did not mean it to refer to the whole Senate. But even if I meant to refer to one person, it was an inappropriate state-ment. I made a mistake and I am sorry.”
Confirming Senate’s readiness to discuss el-Rufai’s apology, the chairman, press relations committee, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, told Senate correspondents yesterday that “we will look at the apology Tuesday and we will also reply the president’s. Also, he said the Senate will consider the plea by the PDP leadership to accept the minister’s apology, adding however that “whatever we are going to do, we will give priority to the integrity of the Senate.”
But Senator Ekweremadu said inspite of the minister’s apology, the issues that led to his unguarded statements about the Senate remain unaddressed.
“This is not a matter for sentiments. We are going to follow the path of honour. The issues have not been addressed. We will continue to remain a beacon and sign of hope for Nigerians,” he said.
The current face-off between the Senate and el-Rufai had erupted last Thursday when the Senate passed a resolution asking President Obasanjo to sack the FCT minister following his state-ment in which he described the Senate as being composed of “fools.”
President Obasanjo has twice written to the Senate since the trouble began. First, he apologised on behalf of the minister to the Senate, an appeal that was rejected and thereafter wrote the Senate asking for understanding, patience and more time to enable him consider the resolution of the Senate.
The Senate in considering Obasanjo’s second letter at a closed door session last Thursday, resolved to set up a three man correspondence committee to draft a reply to the president, including extending till today the deadline to sack the minister.
However, sounding highly remorseful last Friday, el-Rufai at his highly publicised press conference that “we are all human beings and we all make mistakes. Chairman, I deeply regret this and I feel particularly bad about the pain I have caused to so many people, both in the leadership, of the party and outside that truly care about me.”
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