How Senate, Gov Amaechi are running Rivers Assembly, by Senator Enang

How Senate, Gov Amaechi are running
Rivers Assembly, by Senator Enang
on october 19, 2013 at 7:19 pm in interview
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru and Joseph Erunk
THE Senate, at the peak of the crisis in Rivers State
House of Assembly, passed a resolution directing
the Inspector-General of Police Abubakar
Mohammed to redeploy the state Commissioner of
Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, following his alleged role
in the crisis involving the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) and Governor Chibuike Amaechi. But about
two months after, the CP still holds sway in the
state. In an interview, Chairman, Senate Committee
on Rules and Business, Ita Enang, says the Senate
has not received formal information on compliance
with the directive. He also speaks on other issues.
Excerpts:
The Senate recently took over Rivers State House
of Assembly due to the crisis there. How far has the
upper chamber gone with legislation in that state?
Legislation in respect of Rivers State would only
arise if, one, there is a matter in that state requiring
legislation. Two, the three senators representing
Rivers State have become the legislators for the
state and we have become the legislature. If there
is any matter arising from there, they will draw our
attention fast. Secondly, if the governor of the state
has a matter in which he needs legislative backing,
he will write to us.
But, as at now, we have not received any
information seeking either a budgetary approval or
an amendment to any law or a bill seeking to amend
the law or a bill seeking to appoint a commissioner
or any other bill. So, if you do not send a bill seeking
to approve the appointment of a commissioner, we
cannot consider such a commissioner. If there is no
bill seeking for a budget to be passed, we cannot
pass it. If you have not sent a bill that is requiring
the amendment of any law, we cannot originate it
because we have not found anything wrong in the
way you run the administration of the state to which
we are the legislature.
Do you have a time frame as the legislature in that
state?
We have a time frame under the Constitution. When
it is over, it will be over. But, as at today, we are the
legislature for Rivers State. I will not go into the
details of that but the Constitution says six months
in the first instance.
Senator Enang
What is the National Assembly doing to ensure that
there is no repeat of what led to the taking over of
the Rivers State House of Assembly?
Well, I think we will ensure that, that does not
happen and, of course, we gave the Senate
President the mandate to interface and I believe he
may be interfacing at that level with the governor
and the political party (PDP) to bring about peace.
At the height of the Rivers’ crisis, the Senate came
up with a resolution mandating the Inspector
General of Police to transfer the state Commissioner
of Police, Mr Joseph Mbu, out of that state but the
man is still there in that capacity…
By our regulations, we made a resolution and we
asked somebody to do something. We are not yet
aware because nothing has been reported to us that
it has been effected or not effected. We are yet to
have a formal situation; but when we have a formal
situation, we will be able to speak and act on it.
Does that mean that you don’t follow up on your
resolutions?
When we pass a resolution, we communicate to the
executive. It is for the executive to react and we
have heard about the reaction. We follow up; it is
not all resolutions that are not implemented.
Is the National Assembly not worried about the
situation in the Kaduna State House of Assembly
where the Speaker was impeached by 18 of 33
lawmakers?
At that stage, it remains the internal affair of the
Kaduna State House of Assembly; it has not come
to us yet and so we cannot speak on it. I will not
speak because I have not seen the Standing Order
of the Kaduna State House of Assembly. Of course,
that is what is reported in the media. I have not
confirmed that, that is what happened on the floor of
the Kaduna State House of Assembly because I
have not seen the votes and proceedings of that
House.
Nigerians are becoming worried about the relevance
of the National Assembly in view of the fact that
many resolutions are being passed but not
implemented. What is the legislature doing to give
bite to its resolutions and to disabuse the minds of
the people that it is not a mere rubber stamp of the
executive?
I’m sure you have seen many actions we have
taken which showed our independence and I’m sure
that no state House of Assembly can do up to what
we have done to show the independence and
relevance of the legislature. We are not only
relevant because we have certainly been able to
deliver under the law and the Constitution. In fact,
for example, if we don’t pass the budget, you don’t
implement.
What do you think should be done to restore sanity
in the aviation sector, given the increasing
incidences of crash of aircraft?
We need a complete overhaul of the aviation sector
by asking for a technical audit of each of the airlines
and aircraft by foreign experts, not manufacturers
of these aircraft, as to the state of the aircraft,
because I have problem believing that they are
being honest about the actual state of most of the
aircraft that are flying in our airspace.
Earlier in the year, when the PIB was passed by the
Senate, Nigerians were full of expectations that the
bill would go through all other processes without
much delay. What is happening now?
I think you know that the bill has been passed on
the floor of the Senate and you saw that we held a
public hearing on the bill. We are now at the stage of
considering the report on the hearing and the
chairman of the committee on the bill, Senator
Emmanuel Paulker, is of the opinion that we should
call and discuss with more persons. At this stage, I
am sure that you know that we have met with the
Minister of Petroleum Resources; we have met the
management of the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC, and other interest groups. They
made their submissions and, having made the
submissions, we will be considering them.
The fear being expressed in some quarters is that
some interests are not allowing the bill to see the
light of day…
It has seen the light of day by passing through the
second reading. What we are doing right now is to
bring out and look at the reports of the committee
immediately we resume from Sallah vacation. And
that was one of the reasons that we have adjourned,
seeing that there are many reports pending in
some  committees and the number of people
required in those committees, sometimes we
cannot form quorum on the floor and in those
committees.
Like the PIB, there are four committees involved;
one committee on petroleum upstream, petroleum
downstream, committee on judiciary and committee
on gas. In each of these committees, by the time all
of us are in that committee, for example, I chair one
of these committees but I cannot be absent from
the floor of the Senate. Therefore, that is why we
have adjourned and concluded that, come fire,
come sun, we should go and sit and tidy the
reports.
What about the areas of contention in the bill?
That is why the committee meets; that is why the
committee is asking, what do members say about
this provision? Of course, given what we have and
the reality of the law and the interests of Nigerians,
what should we do? That is the essence of the
committee. We are taking it clause by clause now to
say no to some of them and we are going to see a
tidy bill that will be acceptable to Nigerians.
How soon do you envisage that to be?
I am believing that as soon as we resume from
Sallah vacation. That is why we are saying that we
are to proceed on vacation so that at that time, most
of our colleagues must have proceeded on hajj. But
we said, ‘look, let us go on break so that these
committees will be meeting and then those of us,
our Muslim brothers, that will be proceeding on hajj
will be back by 15th and 16th, and, by 18th, the
Sallah celebrations will be over. By 18th, 19th, 20th
and 21st, the committees will be meeting and then,
by the 22nd, the report will be ready and they will
lay it before us.
So, by then, Nigerians should be expecting a
people-oriented PIB?
Yes and let Nigerians not be worried about the PIB
because it is not as if there is no law to regulate the
oil sector. It is only that we just want to put all the
laws together in one instrument so that it will be
easy when you pick up one volume of law
containing everything about the petroleum
industry,about gas, the upstream, the downstream,
the service companies, the IOCs, marketing,
subsidy, the Petroleum Technology Development
Fund and all of that; you will see one law in one
instrument and in one document.
Some of the Senate committees appear to be busy
now, undertaking some oversight functions. But we
are in the fourth quarter of the year now, how have
they been turning in their reports?
If you see the Order Paper and the Notice that I
published two weeks ago, I gave the list of the
committees and the days they will lay the
situational reports on the floor. For a committee to
be able to lay a situational report before the Senate,
it has to go on oversight to see what is happening in
the respective ministries. It is to comply with the
situational report, that is why they have to go on
oversight to see the projects on ground, see the
contractors, see the ministries, find out how much
money has been released for each of the projects,
find out how much is remaining for that project and
find out whether it needs more money in next
year’s budget. Therefore, it is necessary for them
to do the oversight now and part of why we
adjourned is to give these committees enough time
because most of them that want to write reports
must see what is on ground before they write.