As the Senate votes today to ratify or reject the proclamation of state of emergency in three states by President Goodluck Jonathan, senators of the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) may ignore the position of the party to endorse the emergency.
President Goodluck Jonathan on May 14 declared emergency rule in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states to tackle the insurgency that has killed thousands since 2009.
The Senate at plenary today will formally vote to either approve or reject the declaration in fulfillment of constitutional provisions that two third majority of members of the Senate and House of Representatives must be secured.
The ACN had rejected the emergency rule and there are fears that senators of the party may vote against the emergency today.
Domingo Obende, a senator of the ACN from Edo and vice chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in an interview yesterday said though the party was against the emergency “we as senators have the right to our views and I have a right to my opinion”.
“ACN as a body has a right to hold a view. We have a caucus and we have not met to take a decision but we have to move with the tide. We can see the nation is drifting and it is our duty to arrest the drift.
“It is not about the position of ACN but the nation. I believe the state of emergency is not about ACN but whatever we do would be in the best interest of the country”, Obende said.
TUNJI OLAWUNI, Abuja
