TheCable

Kabir Marafa, representative of Zamfara central senatorial district in the national assembly, has expressed displeasure over the constitution and composition of the standing committees of the eighth senate.

Addressing journalists at the end of plenary on Tuesday, Marafa accused Senate President Bukola Saraki of  encouraging “legislative tyranny” at the red chamber.

He said the committees were “illegal, null and void,” because the senate did not approve of any them.

“We don’t have any committee now. The senate president should apologise to Nigerians for announcing those committees because they are illegal,” he said.

“If the senate president goes ahead to inaugurate the committees, I expect Nigerians to charge in for contempt.”

Marafa is one of the allies of Ahmad Lawan, Saraki’s challenger for the position of senate president. Earlier at plenary, he raised a point of order asking Saraki to review the composition of the committees.

Speaking on the floor of the upper legislative chamber, Marafa argued that it was unconstitutional for the senate president to unilaterally increase the number of standing committees from 59 to 65.

He argued that the composition of the selection committee mandated with distributing the committees was defective. The Zamfara senator argued that the selection committee should have reflected the federal character principle enshrined in the constitution, but he said it was not so.

He further said that seniority was not followed in the distribution of the committees, adding that Bala Na’ Allah, deputy senate leader (Kebbi), was given two vice-chairmanship positions, sidelining other senior senators from the north-west.

Marafa, who is the chairman of the senate committee on national identity,  emphasised that there was no fairness ‎in the distribution of the committees, stating that Kwara state where the senate president hails from, had two chairmanship slots.

He also said the committees were announced without a resolution or contribution of the senate‎, adding that based on the rules of the senate,  the committees should have been constituted by a resolution of the upper legislative chamber.

He urged the senate president “to do the‎ right thing” and review the composition of the standing committees.

On his part, Saraki ruled that his points were noted, and would be referred to the selection committee for consideration.

But another pro-Lawan senator, Suleiman Hunkuyi, raised another point of order to counter Saraki’s ruling.

He argued that the selection committee, which the senate president referred Marafa’s  case to, was already defective.

However, the senate president ruled him out of order.

The senate adjourned afterwards to Wednesday out of respect for its clerk, Adedotun Durojaiye, who died last Friday.