BY HENRY UMORU

The Senate read the mood of the nation correctly when it   threw its weight  behind  the imposition of state of emergency  in  the troubled states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.

Following the nationwide broadcast by President  Goodluck Jonathan where he declared the state of emergency and in line with the Senate Standing Orders 2011 as amended, the lawmakers  called for a session to deliberate on the official gazette by the President.
The senate session, on Tuesday, drew over 70 members from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; 18 from the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN; seven from Congress for Progressive Change, CPC; eight from the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP; three  Labour Party, LP; one from the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA; and one from Democratic Peoples Party, DPP. The senators  resolved to put aside party  politics in favour of national interest.

Despite the criticism of the president’s emergency rule proclamation  by the leadership of the  ACN, especially by the national leader of the party and former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, senators elected on the platform of the ACN showed  that they were worried over the massive killings and wanton destruction of property by members of the Boko Haram sect in the three North-East states where emergency was declared and they told Nigerians Jonathan did a very good job.

The session commenced when Senate President David Mark, at 11.05a.m,  led other principal officers from his office to the chamber.
The Order Paper showed that  the motion by Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba, PDP, Cross River Central, was on the state of the nation.
To start  the discussion, Senator Victor Lar, Plateau South, moved a motion for votes and proceedings; he was seconded by Senator Atai Aidoko Ali, ANPP, Kogi East.

Mark, who read the gazette of the declaration, called on  Ndoma-Egba  to direct the Senate. The Senate Leader  drew the attention of the senators to Senate Standing Rule 136, as amended.

Section 136 reads, ‘’The President shall in a closed session brief the Senate on the circumstances of the Proclamation of a State of Emergency and thereafter make available to the Senators the documents as provided by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Ndoma-Egba then moved for a closed door session and seconded by Senate Minority Leader, Senator George Akume, ACN, Benue North-West.

The senators entered into the closed door session at 11.32 am to discuss the gazette and, at 12.44pm, reconvened for the business of the day.

Speaking at the resumed session after the closed door meeting, the Senate President, Mark, said: ‘’At the closed session, we extensively discussed some of the issues that we think are very important to this proclamation of state of emergency. We want to emphasize very emphatically that all the democratic structures must be left in place and must be allowed to operate fully and actively and they must also be involved in all the efforts that the Federal Government is putting up to bring this ugly situation to an end.

‘’The summary of our discussion is the fact that the democratic structures will remain in place, the governors and local government chairmen, has as it were, the backings of the federal government and they should be supported maximally to ensure that this is brought to a logical conclusion.”
Mark, who disclosed  that 100 senators were present during the session, with nine absent, added that 72  was required to pass it and, at  2.55pm, he called for yes vote and the senators unanimously voted in support of the emergency rule proclamation.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, explained that the senators took the unanimous vote  to protect  the people.

Abaribe said that, at the closed door session, all  senators, including members of the ACN, spoke frankly on the need to put Nigeria  as a common interest before any political leaning, just as he said that the Senate was yet to get any request for additional funding for the emergency. He added that government  may be using contingency funds to handle the state of emergency.

Senators who spoke separately to Sunday Vanguard admitted that they told themselves the truth at the closed door session that enough of the insurgent killings.

The ACN senators, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard, said that prior to Tinubu making the statement kicking against the proclamation, he had not digested the document and he never sought their opinion on the matter, even as they said that Nigeria as a country was bigger than any individual, group tribe or party.

The Presidency hailed the National Assembly for the unanimous decision to approve the president’s proclamation of state of emergency.
In a statement by the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emodi, the Presidency noted that the senators and members of the House of Representatives endorsing the declaration have once again demonstrated that national interest must at all times be placed higher and above partisan and sectional considerations.