By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

The Senate, yesterday, accused senior administration officials of mutilating President Goodluck Jonathan’s signature on the Constitution Alteration Bill to the benefit of preserving their selfish desires and giving the wrong impression it was never signed.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekeremadu in an interview told Vanguard that the evidence of the President’s assent to the Constitution (Fourth) Alteration Act was available to the legislative body as he gave a stout rebuttal of the President’s claim that he did not sign the bill.

Ekweremadu spoke ahead of today’s consideration of the appeal brought by the National Assembly at the Supreme Court against the earlier ruling by the apex court urging all parties to the suit brought by the Federal Government against the National Assembly on the issue.

In a ruling earlier this month, the court had asked all parties to stay action until June 18. Ekweremadu said that it was in the desperation of the administration officials to hide the mutilation of the constitution alteration Act signed by the President that they took the matter to court to enable them cover up the act.

A seven-man panel of justices of the apex court, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, had ordered the lawmakers to maintain status quo on the matter until June 18 following the determination of the National Assembly to override the president’s declared veto on the constitution amendments.

Senator Ekweremadu, who was chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review also debunked insinuations that the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke was against the provision separating the offices of Attorney General and Minister of Justice, saying that Adoke only raised objections after the National Assembly rewrote the constitution to make the National Judicial Council the recommending body.