Former governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, said Thursday’s plenary of the Senate where proclamation of an emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu on Rivers State was approved is a farce.
The approval defied the requirements of the constitution which prescribes vote counting in support of the declaration by 2/3 majority by each of the upper and the lower chambers.
Rather than vote counting both chambers adopted voice votes.
A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tambuwal, who represents Sokoto South in the 10th Senate, said the exercise was fraught with illegalities and manipulation of the process.
He asserted that the two thirds majority, that is 73 senators of 109 that is required by law for the approval of the emergency rule were not at the sitting.
“Section 305 of the Constitution is very clear. It is unambiguous, the language is very plain, of the Constitution as to first, how the president can declare a state of emergency and what is required of the legislature, the two chambers – both the Senate and the House of Representatives before passing such a resolution.
“What is required is that you must obtain and have two-thirds of all the members, of either of the two chambers, in support of the resolution.
“In the case of what happened in the Senate, where I belong, I don’t know whether members of your team, who are members of the press corps, had the privilege of checking the (Senate) register to see whether there were up to 72, 73 senators on the floor. From what I saw, there was no such number on the floor on that day.
“So, if you juxtapose that to the requirement of the Constitution which says that the Senate must have two-thirds of its members, all of its members to pass that resolution, in support of it, not just present and voting. No! Supporting it. It means that what was done fell short of the provision of the Constitution,” the aggrieved Senator told The Sun.
