Rivers: Voice Vote By Senators, Reps A Camouflage ------ Audu Ogbeh
National Chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP between 2001 and 2005, and former minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has faulted the voice vote adopted by members of the National Assembly to approve President Bola Tinubu's proclamation of emergency rule in Rivers State.
National Chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP between 2001 and 2005, and former minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has faulted the voice vote adopted by members of the National Assembly to approve President Bola Tinubu's proclamation of emergency rule in Rivers State.
Ogbeh also said rather than impose a state of emergency on the oil-rich River State, Tinubu should have called notable Nigerians to mediate in the matter and appeal to the warring parties to sheathe their swords.
Ogbeh said that “Ayes and nays do not give us a clear picture of the position and the moral authority of individual senators or members of the House.
“Nobody should hide under a shadow – if you want a vote, say so; if you don’t want it, say so but this ayes and nays is a camouflage, it doesn’t work.”
He spoke on the Channels Television’s Politics Today programme Thursday, hours after both the Senate and the House of Representatives threw their weights behind the presidential proclamation.
According to him,
Referring to his time as former deputy speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly from 1979 to 1982, Ogbeh said individual voting was adopted for crucial bills and motions, adding that for future occasions, the lawmakers should explore technological tools and vote individually.
According to him, “When a matter comes before the National Assembly for voting, I would like to suggest to the National Assembly to install a capacity in the future for individual voting which they can print out; not ayes and nays, because someday, 10 to 20 years from now, their children and grandchildren and researchers would like to find out how individuals voted on particular bills...
“Rivers State is bigger than any individual. We as a country and as countrymen are not interested in watching a situation where Rivers State and the entire Niger Delta will go up in flames.
“Nigeria has lived off the Niger Delta for 40 years. We appreciate what they have done for Nigeria because their oil has been fuelling our expenditure. Nobody wants a crisis in the Niger Delta.”
According to him,
Referring to his time as former deputy speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly from 1979 to 1982, Ogbeh said individual voting was adopted for crucial bills and motions, adding that for future occasions, the lawmakers should explore technological tools and vote individually.
According to him, “When a matter comes before the National Assembly for voting, I would like to suggest to the National Assembly to install a capacity in the future for individual voting which they can print out; not ayes and nays, because someday, 10 to 20 years from now, their children and grandchildren and researchers would like to find out how individuals voted on particular bills...
“Rivers State is bigger than any individual. We as a country and as countrymen are not interested in watching a situation where Rivers State and the entire Niger Delta will go up in flames.
“Nigeria has lived off the Niger Delta for 40 years. We appreciate what they have done for Nigeria because their oil has been fuelling our expenditure. Nobody wants a crisis in the Niger Delta.”
Tinubu, in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, imposed a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy Ngozi Odu; as well as the Rivers State House of Assembly members for six months in the first instance, hinging his decision on Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution.
President Tinubu further noted that he could no longer continue to watch the political situation in Rivers escalate without taking any action, and then appointed and swore- in a retired naval chief, Vice Admiral Ibok-ete Ibas, as the sole administrator for the oil-rich Niger Delta state.
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