By Haruna Salami
The Deputy Senate Minority Leader, Emmanuel Bwacha’s formal announcement Tuesday that he has crossed from the Peoples Democratic Party to the ruling All Progressive Party citing division and factions in PDP in his Taraba South constituency of Taraba state was received with a mixture of joy and fury at the plenary.
Bwacha said he was leaving PDP because of his “desire to breathe freely, to operate in an atmosphere of equal competition and enjoy the full operation of my fundamental human rights”.
This was joyously applauded by the APC members, including the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who asked the Chief Whip to usher Bwacha to his new seat on the majority side.
However PDP Senators reacted with fury.They didn’t take it lightly, as shown when Senate George Thompson Sekibo raised a Point of Order from the Senate Standing Rules and the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to oppose Bwacha that there was no division or faction in the PDP and therefore must vacate his seat haven left the party that sponsored his election.
The Senate President, however rose to the defence of Bwacha by saying that Sekibo from Rivers state was not in a good position to know if there is faction in Taraba South senatorial district of PDP.
Most importantly, Lawan said as the Senate President, he has the power to rule on the issue that has to do with the Senate Standing Rules and anything that has to do with the Constitution.
Therefore, he didn’t hesitate to use that power well when he ruled Sekibo “out of order”.
