By Gabriel Enogholase

BENIN—SENATOR-elect for Edo North senatorial zone, Mr.  Francis Alimikhena, has said that the decision of the Senate to elect one of its ranking members as Senate President was its internal affairs put in place to ensure peace and stability.

He appealed to newly elected senators to abide by the rules as they were not meant to victimize anybody or section of the country.

Speaking with journalists at the end of an induction course organised for newly elected National Assembly members, he insisted that there was no constitutional provision on how the leadership of the National Assembly should be elected and sued for calm among the senators.

He said: “The Nigerian Constitution did not speak in specific terms as per the headship of the National Assembly and in terms of ranking members and the Senate presidency.  The power to determine the presidency of the Senate is an internal rule that was put in place by the senators themselves.

“This has today become an internal house rule and guide- lines as specifically stated in the Nigeria Constitution that the Senate has the power to put in place its own governing rules and regulations.  These rules were not put in place to victimize any section or zone of the nation but as an order of operation.

“If you are not a ranking member today, you can become a ranking member tomorrow. We must learn to abide by the rules and play the game according to laid down procedures.”

However, he argued that in a situation where the ranking member  was from the same zone as the president of the country, then the ordinary interpretation of the Constitution will apply or the doctrine of necessity will come into play.