There was a heated debate in the Nigerian Senate following a motion to honour the former Chairman of the National Electoral Commission, who supervised the historic June 12, 1993 presidential election, late Professor Humphrey Nwosu.
On Wednesday, the lawmaker representing Abia South, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and several co-sponsors from the minority caucus, largely representing the South-East geopolitical zone, brought a motion under matters of urgent public importance, seeking to immortalise the late academic for his role in the country’s democratic evolution.
“Prof. Nwosu’s contributions to Nigeria’s democracy remain undeniable. Despite the challenges he faced, he conducted an election that remains a reference point in our electoral history. It is only right that this Senate recognizes his role and honours his memory,” Abaribe argued.
However, as he proceeded with the motion, having been granted leave by the presiding Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, Abaribe was interrupted by a point of order raised by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele.
Bamidele argued that senators did not have copies of the motion, which he deemed a procedural breach.
Abaribe protested, asserting that the copies were available, leading to a tense atmosphere in the chamber as he insisted on proceeding with the motion.
At this point, the Deputy Senate President remarked that the motion was “controversial,” given the divided opinions of Nigerians on Nwosu’s role during the June 12 election
Jibrin said, “It is controversial. Some people see him as one of those who truncated June 12, others say he was a hero of democracy.”
When Abaribe eventually moved the motion and it was put to a voice vote, Jibrin ruled in favour of the “nays,” effectively rejecting any further action on the motion.
Further attempts by Abaribe to revisit the motion, including coming under personal explanation, were opposed by the Senate.
An emotional Abaribe queried, “What is wrong with this motion? What is wrong with a motion to immortalise Prof. Nwosu?”
Rising to make further arguments under Order 1b, Abaribe contended that the Senate could regulate its own proceedings at any time.
“We are not in a dictatorship. We can regulate our proceedings any time,” he declared.
South-East senators, including Patrick Ndubaeze and Victor Umeh, openly expressed their dissatisfaction with the rejection of the motion.
“What is the meaning of this? We can’t continue to do things this way. What is going on?” Umeh exclaimed, striking his desk in frustration.
Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, supporting Abaribe, also accused Jibrin of attempting to silence senators.
“We can interject with personal explanations at any time; we have to allow people to speak; otherwise, we are saying that whenever things go wrong, we cannot intervene to correct ourselves,” he argued.
Abdullahi, just like Abaribe, was also overruled.
As tensions continued to mount, Senate President Godswill Akpabio was forced to step in to calm the heated debate, urging lawmakers to approach the issue with a sense of national unity.
“We must handle this matter with sensitivity and respect for history. While opinions may differ, we should focus on strengthening our democratic institutions rather than revisiting past divisions,” Akpabio advised.
Following further deliberations, the Senate deferred a final decision on the motion, referring it to the appropriate committee for further review.
