Group protests election of Omo-Agege, Gbajabiamila as presiding officers in NASS

A group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned the election of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege as deputy senate president and Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker of the House of Representatives, protesting that the two lawmakers are yet to fully and transparently clear their names against very damaging allegations of misdemeanor and fraud.

HURIWA in a statement on Thursday described the election of the two federal lawmakers as a desecration of the central law making organ of government with lasting consequences on the moral justifications of the legislations to be churned out from the Ninth National Assembly, adding that it constitutes also a grave sacrilege on the parliament because of the hovering doubts that will linger in the minds of decent persons globally about the ethical challenges that confronted the duo which were never treated or resolved to the satisfaction of the principle of rule of law.

HURIWA also condemned the All Progressives Congress(APC) for insisting on foisting Omo-Agege and Gbajabiamila in National Assembly members which offends section 15 (5) of the Nigerian Constitution which states that “the Nigerian State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.”

The group decried that it was the peak of corruption that two persons with questions to answer on alleged criminal conducts of fraud and aiding and abetting the criminal invasion of the Senate and the violent theft of the Mace, the symbol of authority of the Senate, to be elected presiding officers in the federal legislature. “The emergence of these two persons as Deputy Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives smacks of irresponsibility and crass insensitivity to the opinions of millions of the Citizens,” the group argued.

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HURIWA lamenting the emergence of Senator Omo-Agege as deputy senate president even after he was indicted by the Eighth over his alleged role in the theft of the senate mace by suspected hoodlums who accompanied him to the Upper Chamber, bemoaned that the credibility and integrity of the senate has been eroded and massively damaged irretrievably unless senator Omo-Agege is impeached from the high office of Deputy Senate President.

HURIWA, therefore, called on the Senate to impeach Senator Omo-Agege from the office of Deputy Senate President.

“We invite the senators to take a good look at the preponderance of overwhelming rejection of the election of someone who disrespected the constituted authority of the Eighth Senate when he was suspended by the leadership of the then senate in session only for him to now emerge as deputy senate president.

“This is comedy taken too far and will water-down the respect the rest of the world would have on our senate. What this action conveys to Nigerian youngsters is that it pays to misbehave and disobey constituted authority. This election of both Senator Omo-Agege and the allegedly discredited Femi Gbajabiamila if allowed to remain will amount to the canonization of rascality and misconduct,” HURIWA said.