The Senate on Wednesday summoned the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay, over his comments.
Sagay had on Tuesday said that Senate is full of people with questionable characters.
Sagay spoke in response to the refusal of the Senate to screen and
confirm the 27 nominees sent to it by President Muhammadu Buhari as
Commissioners in the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
On Wednesday, the Senate, after a Point of Order raised by the Deputy
Leader, Bala ibn Na’allah, calling the attention of senators to a
newspaper report, decided to summon Sagay.
Sagay, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, stated that Buhari would not be
cowed by the Senate’s action, which he described as an affront on the
Presidency.
He said: “That action is childish and irresponsible. Do they think
Buhari is a man that can easily be threatened? My God! How can people of
such character occupy the highest legislative office in the country?
Nigeria is finished.
“It is a great mistake and they will regret it.”
Asked what appropriate action Buhari could take, Sagay explained that
the President could continue to appoint people in acting capacity where
necessary.
He said the refusal to confirm the RECs was of no effect since officials of the INEC had been acting as RECs for over a year.
Sagay added: “Where the Senate is required to approve a person for a
particular position and they refuse to do it, the person could continue
to act depending on the nature of the appointment.
“However, if the nominee is coming from another sector, just like in
the case of the RECs, it means they cannot act. However, people below
that rank in INEC can continue to act as RECs all over the country as it
has been done.
“What this action means is that the Senate is being occupied by the
most unserious set of Nigerians in history. Nigeria is currently at its
lowest level because we have people who have no sense of responsibility,
who have no feeling and are there for just vanity and are ready to
bring down the country in order to feel important, it is the worst case
of abuse ever.
“Let them do what they want, they will regret it.”