The Senate has asked its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to investigate the lawmaker representing Delta Central Senatorial District, Ovie Omo-Agege and nine pro-Buhari senators over comments that the sequence of elections approved by the Senate was targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari.
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu who presided over plenary asked the Samuel Anyanwu-led committee to submit its report within two weeks.
This followed a Point of Order moved by Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi State) at Tuesday plenary.
Recall that last week, 10 pro-Buhari senators kicked against the new sequence of elections adopted by the apex legislative chamber, following amendment of the 2010 Electoral Act.
The 10 APC senators include: Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa State), Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta), Umar Kurfi (Katsina), Andrew Uchendu (Rivers), Benjamin Uwajumogu (Imo), Abdullahi Yahaya (Kebbi), Abu Ibrahim (Katsina), Abdullahi Gumel (Jigawa), Ali Wakil (Bauchi) and Binta Masi Garba (Adamawa).
The lawmakers insist that the bill was targeted at President Buhari, describing the re-ordering of election as unconstitutional.
Omo-Agege, an APC senator, had claimed that 59 lawmakers were against the re-ordering of elections.
There are strong indications that the panel may recommend the suspension of Omo-Agege, as Melaye specifically singled him out among the lawmakers who breached his privilege.
Speaking under Order 14, Melaye who moved the motion that led to the investigation and suspension of the immediate past Senate Majority Leader, Ali Ndume, for six months in 2017, said the lawmaker had also breached the collective privilege of the upper legislative chamber.
His words: “I cannot be part of any group of persons. I swore on oath on the 9th of June 2015. If decisions in this Senate is now being teleguided and targeted at any particular person, then that is no longer democracy. That statement to me is weighty.
“I personally campaigned and followed the President to 35 states of the Federation. The only place I did not follow him to was Yobe where we did not even go throughout the campaign. When I was following Buhari to campaign to become the President of this country, Ovie Omo-Agege was labouring in the Labour Party.
“Today, to take the decision of the Senate, the integrity of the Senate put together, that it was tailored towards targeting a particular person, it is unheard of, it is in bad taste. And I do not want to be part of that.
“I want to add that this statement was made by Omo-Agege among other statements, that the Committee on Ethics and Privileges need to investigate this matter and find out if truly our decision was made and targeted at Mr President among other issues raised by him. And that was not enough, another interview was granted and I will want to state categorically that I will not be part of any group or decisions that will be targeted at a particular character, talk less of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
Ruling on the motion, Ekweremadu asked the committee to investigate the matter and report back in two weeks.