Ekweremadu briefs Osinbajo on Senate mace theft

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate
president, are currently holding a meeting at the presidential
villa in Abuja.

The meeting is taking place hours after Ovie Omo-Agege, a
senator from Delta state, led suspected thugs into the senate
chamber to cart away the mace, which is the symbol of authority of
the legislature.

President Muhammadu Buhari and Senate President Bukola Saraki
are attending officials functions abroad.

Theodore Orji, a lawmaker from Abia state, was speaking on the
floor of the senate when the unwanted visitors broke in.

The senate immediately went into a closed-door session after
which a spare mace was brought and it reconvened.

Speaking with state house correspondents at the end of the
meeting, Ekweremadu said he came to update Osinbajo on what
happened earlier at the senate.

“I’m sure you are aware of the senate invasion today and we have
to come and brief the vice-president because the president is not
in town. It is appropriate for him to know. We are in a democracy;
we are all in one government,” he said.

“It is the responsibility of the president or the vice-president
to ensure that there is law and order in the country and once we
have this kind of major development it is important that he is
briefed at the earliest opportunity.

“The senate president is out of the country, it is, therefore,
my responsibility to come over and brief the vice-president who has
sympathised with us over what happened and he is going to join
forces with us to ensure that we get to the root of the matter to
make sure that this will not happen again.

“For us, it’s a threat to our democracy, the invasion of the
parliament is not acceptable to any person, its not acceptable to
me, its not acceptable to the VP, its not acceptable to my
colleagues, I believe its not also acceptable to the president so
those who acted this script must be on their own.”

He also appealed to the media to do its best in discouraging
this “kind of brigandage”.

Ekweremadu also criticised Omo-Agege, wondering the right he had
to enter into the red chamber when he was on suspension.

“All we need to do as a country is to ensure that this is
forestalled and I want to appeal to the media to help us discourage
this kind of brigandage so that people have to behave in a very
responsible manner. But let me assure you that we are on top of the
situation, we did our sitting today and we are going to continue
tomorrow,” he said.

“Having suffered suspension, does Omo-Agege have legal right to
enter the chamber? It was a breach of the law for him to force
himself into the chambers, as I said police is still investigating
we are going to find out the details of those who aided him to come
in and then some of them I believe have been arrested and we will
get to the root of the matter.”

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate
president, are currently holding a meeting at the presidential
villa in Abuja.

The meeting is taking place hours after Ovie Omo-Agege, a
senator from Delta state, led suspected thugs into the senate
chamber to cart away the mace, which is the symbol of authority of
the legislature.

President Muhammadu Buhari and Senate President Bukola Saraki
are attending officials functions abroad.

Theodore Orji, a lawmaker from Abia state, was speaking on the
floor of the senate when the unwanted visitors broke in.

The senate immediately went into a closed-door session after
which a spare mace was brought and it reconvened.

Speaking with state house correspondents at the end of the
meeting, Ekweremadu said he came to update Osinbajo on what
happened earlier at the senate.

“I’m sure you are aware of the senate invasion today and we have
to come and brief the vice-president because the president is not
in town. It is appropriate for him to know. We are in a democracy;
we are all in one government,” he said.

“It is the responsibility of the president or the vice-president
to ensure that there is law and order in the country and once we
have this kind of major development it is important that he is
briefed at the earliest opportunity.

“The senate president is out of the country, it is, therefore,
my responsibility to come over and brief the vice-president who has
sympathised with us over what happened and he is going to join
forces with us to ensure that we get to the root of the matter to
make sure that this will not happen again.

“For us, it’s a threat to our democracy, the invasion of the
parliament is not acceptable to any person, its not acceptable to
me, its not acceptable to the VP, its not acceptable to my
colleagues, I believe its not also acceptable to the president so
those who acted this script must be on their own.”

He also appealed to the media to do its best in discouraging
this “kind of brigandage”.

Ekweremadu also criticised Omo-Agege, wondering the right he had
to enter into the red chamber when he was on suspension.

“All we need to do as a country is to ensure that this is
forestalled and I want to appeal to the media to help us discourage
this kind of brigandage so that people have to behave in a very
responsible manner. But let me assure you that we are on top of the
situation, we did our sitting today and we are going to continue
tomorrow,” he said.

“Having suffered suspension, does Omo-Agege have legal right to
enter the chamber? It was a breach of the law for him to force
himself into the chambers, as I said police is still investigating
we are going to find out the details of those who aided him to come
in and then some of them I believe have been arrested and we will
get to the root of the matter.”