on Wednesday because of the fear that an open deliberation on the
defection bid of the 11 Peoples Democratic Party senators to the All
Progressives Congress could generate tension.
But tension still played out as the aggrieved senators and their APC
counterparts left angrily immediately the session which lasted
about two hours ended.
The action of the senators , who were led by Senator Magnus Abe, was
considered 'strange,' going by the fact that the Senate President,
David Mark, was usually allowed to leave the chamber before other
lawmakers.
A meeting between Mark and the aggrieved senators on Tuesday night
over the issue had ended inconclusively.
Our correspondent learnt that the intention of the aggrieved
senators was to brief journalists about what transpired during
the executive session.
A source at the session toldThe Metro that Abe and the others
were disappointed when Mark directed the Senate spokesperson,
Enyinnaya Abaribe, to brief the media on the outcome of the
meeting.
Abaribe told journalists that the meeting resolved that Mark
should seek legal advice before he could act on the letter of
defection written by the 11 senators.
He explained that there were serious legal and constitutional issues
surrounding the defection of the aggrieved lawmakers which needed
the opinion of legal experts.
Abaribe said, "I can confirm to you that on the matter of those who
want to defect that the issue was also discussed during the closed
session and it was also resolved that the Senate, the Senate president
in particular, would have to seek further legal advice.
"There were serious legal issues that were thrown up during the
discussion and the legal issues relate to both the interpretation of
the 1999 Constitution and the interpretation of our rules within the
Senate."
The Senate spokesman said more time was given for further consultations.
He said, "It was also resolved that when the Senate resumes plenary on
Tuesday, the issue of defection would also be looked into.
"What happens about the question of the constitution and rules is that
they are subject to the interpretation by whoever is interpreting
them.
"One thing is clear under Rule 25 of the Senate, only the Senate
president has the power and the authority to interpret anything.
"Therefore, what we did in the discussion is for the Senate president
to obtain the views of various senators and various people and he
decided that it would now be necessary for him to also seek further
legal advice.
"I think it is in the best interest of the country for decisions that
are going to be taken to be taken with due cognisance of the law. We
are lawmakers; we are not lawbreakers."
Asked why defections in the past were not subjected to legal or
constitutional interpretations, Abaribe said those affected in the
past did not go to court.
He said, "In the past, senators defected but they did not take the
presiding officer to court. The senators who are defecting had first
gone to court against the presiding officer.
"And of course, if you go to court that means that we have to suspend
what we are doing pending the resolution of the matter in court.
"So, it was in the attempt for us to seek a political solution to this
matter that we had these fruitful discussions."
Abaribe also said that both the Senate president and the defecting
senators agreed that further consultations be made.
He said that further discussions on the issue had been reserved till Tuesday
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