Things seemed to have fallen apart between the Senate and the House of Representatives, over the proposed visit to South Africa by the federal lawmakers in the wake of fresh xenophoibic attacks on Nigerians in the former apartheid enclave.
The bone of contention was the insistence of the House of Representatives to visit South Africa independently, leading to the Senate’s announcement of the cancellation of its trip to investigate the attacks on Nigerians and other Africans in the former apartheid enclave.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, made the announcement of the withdrawal, after a 20-minute closed-door meeting that preceded Wednesday’s plenary.
Ekweremadu said that the Senate cancelled the trip to avoid multiple delegations to South Africa, adding, “On our trip to South Africa, we noted that the House of Representatives insists on going to South Africa independently. We thought we could lead a single and harmonised delegation of the National Assembly to avoid the embarrassment of multiple delegations. The Senate, therefore, decided to pull out to allow the House delegation to proceed.”
The Point also gathered that another bone of contention, apart from harmonization of the delegation, was the disagreement on the size of the delegation.
It was also revealed that each member of the delegation would get $5,000, which explained why more lawmakers wanted to be on the train to South Africa; even as the Senate had planned to send seven senators, the House listed six members.
The Point also gathered that while the Senate wanted equal number of delegates from each chamber, who would be joined by Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, the House insisted of having more delegates and embarking on the trip independently.
A member of the Senate team, who spoke to one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, disclosed that while the Senate insisted that both chambers should send equal number of delegates, who would be joined by officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the House insisted on having more number of delegates and embarking on the trip independently.
A senator, who pleaded anonymity said, “We were forced to pull out of the trip. How can the Senate consider sending five delegates and the House wants to send 10 members, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sends 12? What will Nigerians say about the size of the delegation?
“The House members became so overzealous about the trip. When it was clear that they would remain adamant on sending a large number of delegates on the trip, we had to back out. Each delegate will be getting $5,000 as estacode. I would also have got $5,000 if we were to go; but if we decide that all those pencilled in should go, like the Reps are saying, how much do you think the trip would cost? And what will Nigerians say about us?”
Another senator who also does not want his name mentioned, said senators unanimously agreed to cancel the trip so as not to embarrass the country in South Africa, because two different delegations would be in South Africa for the same purpose.
“We decided to leave them with the trip since they are showing too much anxiety. They are even fighting over who should go on the trip among them,” he said.
However, the House of Representatives said it was not in position to speak on why the Senate pulled out of the trip.
The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazak Namdas, said, “I am not a member of the Senate,” but he noted that the decision to visit South Africa was first taken by the House, adding that the Senate only took same decision after the House had already taken its decision.
“We first took the decision in the House to go to South Africa and the Senate did as well,” Namdas stated.
A House member said that the House did not expect the Senate to take same decision after the House had taken the lead.
He said, “We already appointed a six-member team to be led by the House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila. Shortly after, the Senate came up with its own list of delegates to be led by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
“The implication of this is that the House delegation will be subsumed under the Senate delegation; but then, we first muted the idea of the trip.”
House Leader, Gbajabiamila, refused to be drawn to make comment, saying that he would reserve his comments until he knows why the Senate withdrew from the trip.
“Until I read such an outlandish claim, I will not believe it or respond to it,” Gbajabiamila said.
Those on the Senate’s list of delegates, apart from Ekweremadu, were: the Majority Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan; the Chief Whip, Senator Sola Adeyeye; the Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Shehu Sani, Senators Stella Oduah, Magnus Abe and Shaba Lafiaji.
