An aspirant for the President of
the Senate, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has warned that the independence of the Ninth
National Assembly may be under threat.
He called on lawmakers to work to
protect its independence to avoid turbulent sessions.
Ndume also singled out Senator
Dino Melaye and apologised to him “if I offended you during my stay in the
Eight Senate.”
Ndume, representing Borno South
in the upper legislative chamber, noted that the only thing every parliament
has going for it is its independence which it must guard zealously.
The lawmaker said this while
contributing to the valedictory session to mark the end of legislative business
for the Eight Senate on Thursday.
The Borno born politician said
that the difference between democracy and military government is the
independence of parliament.
Ndume said, “We had loads of
disagreements. I respect your resilience and your ability to stand for what you
believe in. We started together and we were doing fine. What happened was part of
the learning process.
“My concern is the independence
of this arm of government. That is not to say we must not work with the other
side (Presidency).
“I see a dangerous thing coming.
The only thing that makes democracy different from military rule is the
Parliament. We need to ensure the independence of the Parliament.
“If we take away the Parliament,
what we have is not democracy. I am one of those that were controversial in the
last four years. Within the process, we may have offended one another. I take
nothing personal.
“This institution is very
important. Let us protect the sanctity of the parliament. This is the Nigerian
Senate. There is no APC or PDP Senate. This is the Senate of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
“We will continue to support the
other side but we must work at all times to protect the sanctity of the
institution of the parliament. We must continue to enhance the sanctity of the
Senate at all times.”
What a trash! The Senate that's frost with fraudulent activities, budget padding and expectation of bribery before budget could be passed is the worst Senate in the history of this nation.
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