A mildrama ensued at the House of Representatives plenary on Thursday when the deputy, Hon. Idris Wase who presided skilled a motion on the order paper.
The motion essentially seeking to probe the invasion of a high court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State by some police personnel was presented by Hon. Serguis Ogun representing Esan North federal constituency of Edo State
The motion was listed as the number 10 item on the paper.
Trouble started when Wase skipped it and moved onto the next one.
But Ogun called his attention that his motion was the next to be called.
Responding, Wase said he deliberately skipped it because Ogun was making noise while plenary was ongoing.
But Ogun refuted that, saying he was discussing his motion with his colleague.
He added that he wasn’t the only one who has made a noise during proceedings.
“My motion is the next listed, I’m here to take it. Mr, Speaker I know you have the power not to take it,” he said.
But the deputy speaker chided him which prompted him to tender an apology to the House afterwards.
Wading into the matter, the Chief Whip of the House, Hon. Mohammed Monguno picked holes in Ogun’s behavior and called for sanctions to serve as a deterrent to others.
He said, “Mere sorry can’t suffice. We have to call him to order. We have to invoke disciplinary measure. This is an institution not a jungle. He must be called to order for speaking anyhow to the Speaker.”
But Wase accepted the apologies and rejected the call for sanctions.
All this however happened before the visiting Ghanaian Parliamentarians who were in the country to understudy their Nigerian counterparts.
Having accepted the apologies, Wase eventually called Ogun to move his motion.
Moving the motion on the need to investigate the invasion of the Federal High Court, Uyo, Akwa Ibom by personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, the the Edo born lawmaker appealed to the House to mandate the Committee on Police Affairs to investigate the invasion which took place on February 16, 2022 and ensure that those who were complicit in the invasion face the full wrath of the law.
He also prayed that the House will urge the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba to immediately produce the fleeing police officer and hand her over to the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for prosecution.
But when the motion was put a voice vote, the House rejected it, obviously venting their anger on Ogun. Continue Reading
