October 30, 2007
The embattled Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Patricia Etteh, and her deputy, Alhaji Babangida Nguroje, hurriedly resigned on Tuesday to avoid being impeached.
And as Etteh left the chamber, she was greeted with jeers and boos by a horde of National Assembly staff that clustered in the lobby.
The resignation of the Speaker and her deputy was the culmination of a protracted crisis over a N628m contract scandal, which compelled the House to set up a nine-member probe panel, headed by Mr. David Idoko.
Etteh signed her short handwritten letter of resignation, drafted in the chamber with the assistance of the Acting Clerk of the House, Mr. Niyi Ajiboye, at about 4.10pm.
She said her action was based on counsel from family members, friends and colleagues.
The letter reads, “Following an advice from family members, friends and colleagues, and in the interest of democracy and Nigeria, I, Mrs. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, hereby tender my resignation as Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives with effect from today, Tuesday, 30th October, 2007.
“I appreciate the concern of my colleagues while as Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
Nguroje was the first to resign. His friends had goaded him to do so after a motion for their impeachment was moved by Mr. Kayano Oguakwa.
“It is a matter of public knowledge that events in the House of Representatives in the last two weeks since the breaking of the news on the contract award have overheated the system,” his letter reads in part.
According to Nguroje, since the crisis in the House had hampered legislative work, it was time he acted as a statesman by resigning.
He received a standing ovation for taking the initiative.
Etteh began the process of bidding bye-bye to her exalted seat at about 2.24pm when she vacated it for Mr. Tergu Tsegba who had emerged as Speaker pro-tempore, in an election conducted by the Acting Clerk. Etteh and Tsegba embraced each other on her way out.
Tsegba, who had received 255 votes, was the choice of the Integrity Group, the arrowhead of the opposition to Etteh.
Mr. Edogie West-Idahosa, nominated by the Etteh camp, had 33 votes.
Ironically, West-Idahosa was nominated in absentia. Another lawmaker, Mr. Sada Soli, who was earlier nominated by the Etteh camp, declined by citing personal reasons.
Tsegba had shortly after he mounted the saddle advised all the members to ensure that the House put the crisis behind it.
“I hope to be firm and fair in discharging the historic mandate conferred on me. Honourable colleagues, I count on your support for us to discharge this matter, so that we can indulge in legislative matters for which we have been elected,” he said.
Tsegba drew the attention of his colleagues to the need to establish the procedure to be adopted in debating the Idoko panel report.
He then sought the leave of the House to consult with Etteh on this. As Etteh walked to Tsegba, the Chief Whip, Mr. Bethel Amadi, and Ajiboye joined her.
The Leader of the Integrity Group, Alhaji Farouk Lawan, Mr. Independence Ogunewe, Mr. Igo Aguma and the Clerk also consulted Tsegba.
After the consultations, the House held a closed-door session. It was gathered that Etteh was asked to resign as a soft-landing for her.
On resumption, the Speaker pro-tempore said that the House had decided that Etteh and her deputy should resign their positions.
The pronouncement triggered a thunderous ovation from the lawmakers, who had waited for the two former principal officers to do so.
Oguakwa, after moving for the adoption of the progress report of the closed-door session, then tabled a motion for Etteh and Nguroje’s impeachment.
He said, “In pursuant to Section 50 2 (c) of the 1999 Constitution, and on the grounds of incompetence and misconduct, I hereby move that this House remove Madam Speaker and the Deputy Speaker from office.”
Promptly, the motion was seconded by Mr. Leo Ogor, who said that impeachment was in tandem with Order 11 (2) of the House Rule.
As members thought that the process would be through acclamation, a legislator drew their attention to the imperative of dividing the House to avoid legal backlash.
In line with the 1999 Constitution, the Speaker could only be impeached by 230 of the 360 members of the House, which could only be determined by division.
It was at this stage that Etteh and Nguroje embraced common sense to resign.
Before the House got to the stage of electing a Speaker pro-tempore, Etteh had tried to manipulate the process based on the Peoples Democratic Party’s directive to ensure that the person to emerge would submit the report of the debate at the Committee of the Whole to her.
The plot was that she was only stepping aside for the consideration of the Idoko report.
But the Leader of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, Alhaji Mohammed Ndume, sought for the amendment of the procedure of the debate as presented by the House Leader, Mr. Tunde Akogun.
Ndume insisted that Etteh must step aside as Speaker and the process of determining who to emerge as the Speaker pro-tempore would involve the Whole House.
She tried to avoid ruling on the amendment as counter Orders were raised.
A member, Mr. Dino Melaye, drew the attention of the House to the fact that a case was in court over the matter to be discussed, but he attracted jeers from his colleagues who stressed that court cases could not hamper legislative business.
Ogor led the debate, citing Section 36 of the constitution and other relevant statutes to justify his position.
Another member, Mr. Cyril Maduabum, raised the level of the debate when he noted that the House had not achieved anything since June 5 when it was inaugurated, despite the huge allowances the lawmakers had collected.
He said, “We have since five months, when the House was sworn in, done nothing. We are paid salaries from taxes provided by the people of this country.
“We were elected by the people of this country to serve them. Even if you were not elected and you are here, you are deemed to have been elected. Some of us have been neutral. Madam Speaker, you have to step down for this matter to be debated.”
Other members that spoke were Mr. Ibn Na’Allah and Dr. Shehu Matazu.
Na’Allah said that the argument that the matter was in court offended good conscience, reason and fairness.
He criticised the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Mr. Ita Enang, for being part of those who went to court to halt the debate of the report.
According to him, Enang’s action was a betrayal of confidence, given his wealth of experience as the chairman of the committee for eight years.
“The House is greater than any of us. My position is this: You, Etteh, should abide by the content of your speech. It is not a honour to be a judge in your case. Respect the motion as moved by the ANPP leader, Ndume,” he said.
Matazu said that the House had had enough prevarication on the issue, and begged Etteh to step down.
And as Etteh left the chamber, she was greeted with jeers and boos by a horde of National Assembly staff that clustered in the lobby.
The resignation of the Speaker and her deputy was the culmination of a protracted crisis over a N628m contract scandal, which compelled the House to set up a nine-member probe panel, headed by Mr. David Idoko.
Etteh signed her short handwritten letter of resignation, drafted in the chamber with the assistance of the Acting Clerk of the House, Mr. Niyi Ajiboye, at about 4.10pm.
She said her action was based on counsel from family members, friends and colleagues.
The letter reads, “Following an advice from family members, friends and colleagues, and in the interest of democracy and Nigeria, I, Mrs. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, hereby tender my resignation as Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives with effect from today, Tuesday, 30th October, 2007.
“I appreciate the concern of my colleagues while as Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
Nguroje was the first to resign. His friends had goaded him to do so after a motion for their impeachment was moved by Mr. Kayano Oguakwa.
“It is a matter of public knowledge that events in the House of Representatives in the last two weeks since the breaking of the news on the contract award have overheated the system,” his letter reads in part.
According to Nguroje, since the crisis in the House had hampered legislative work, it was time he acted as a statesman by resigning.
He received a standing ovation for taking the initiative.
Etteh began the process of bidding bye-bye to her exalted seat at about 2.24pm when she vacated it for Mr. Tergu Tsegba who had emerged as Speaker pro-tempore, in an election conducted by the Acting Clerk. Etteh and Tsegba embraced each other on her way out.
Tsegba, who had received 255 votes, was the choice of the Integrity Group, the arrowhead of the opposition to Etteh.
Mr. Edogie West-Idahosa, nominated by the Etteh camp, had 33 votes.
Ironically, West-Idahosa was nominated in absentia. Another lawmaker, Mr. Sada Soli, who was earlier nominated by the Etteh camp, declined by citing personal reasons.
Tsegba had shortly after he mounted the saddle advised all the members to ensure that the House put the crisis behind it.
“I hope to be firm and fair in discharging the historic mandate conferred on me. Honourable colleagues, I count on your support for us to discharge this matter, so that we can indulge in legislative matters for which we have been elected,” he said.
Tsegba drew the attention of his colleagues to the need to establish the procedure to be adopted in debating the Idoko panel report.
He then sought the leave of the House to consult with Etteh on this. As Etteh walked to Tsegba, the Chief Whip, Mr. Bethel Amadi, and Ajiboye joined her.
The Leader of the Integrity Group, Alhaji Farouk Lawan, Mr. Independence Ogunewe, Mr. Igo Aguma and the Clerk also consulted Tsegba.
After the consultations, the House held a closed-door session. It was gathered that Etteh was asked to resign as a soft-landing for her.
On resumption, the Speaker pro-tempore said that the House had decided that Etteh and her deputy should resign their positions.
The pronouncement triggered a thunderous ovation from the lawmakers, who had waited for the two former principal officers to do so.
Oguakwa, after moving for the adoption of the progress report of the closed-door session, then tabled a motion for Etteh and Nguroje’s impeachment.
He said, “In pursuant to Section 50 2 (c) of the 1999 Constitution, and on the grounds of incompetence and misconduct, I hereby move that this House remove Madam Speaker and the Deputy Speaker from office.”
Promptly, the motion was seconded by Mr. Leo Ogor, who said that impeachment was in tandem with Order 11 (2) of the House Rule.
As members thought that the process would be through acclamation, a legislator drew their attention to the imperative of dividing the House to avoid legal backlash.
In line with the 1999 Constitution, the Speaker could only be impeached by 230 of the 360 members of the House, which could only be determined by division.
It was at this stage that Etteh and Nguroje embraced common sense to resign.
Before the House got to the stage of electing a Speaker pro-tempore, Etteh had tried to manipulate the process based on the Peoples Democratic Party’s directive to ensure that the person to emerge would submit the report of the debate at the Committee of the Whole to her.
The plot was that she was only stepping aside for the consideration of the Idoko report.
But the Leader of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, Alhaji Mohammed Ndume, sought for the amendment of the procedure of the debate as presented by the House Leader, Mr. Tunde Akogun.
Ndume insisted that Etteh must step aside as Speaker and the process of determining who to emerge as the Speaker pro-tempore would involve the Whole House.
She tried to avoid ruling on the amendment as counter Orders were raised.
A member, Mr. Dino Melaye, drew the attention of the House to the fact that a case was in court over the matter to be discussed, but he attracted jeers from his colleagues who stressed that court cases could not hamper legislative business.
Ogor led the debate, citing Section 36 of the constitution and other relevant statutes to justify his position.
Another member, Mr. Cyril Maduabum, raised the level of the debate when he noted that the House had not achieved anything since June 5 when it was inaugurated, despite the huge allowances the lawmakers had collected.
He said, “We have since five months, when the House was sworn in, done nothing. We are paid salaries from taxes provided by the people of this country.
“We were elected by the people of this country to serve them. Even if you were not elected and you are here, you are deemed to have been elected. Some of us have been neutral. Madam Speaker, you have to step down for this matter to be debated.”
Other members that spoke were Mr. Ibn Na’Allah and Dr. Shehu Matazu.
Na’Allah said that the argument that the matter was in court offended good conscience, reason and fairness.
He criticised the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Mr. Ita Enang, for being part of those who went to court to halt the debate of the report.
According to him, Enang’s action was a betrayal of confidence, given his wealth of experience as the chairman of the committee for eight years.
“The House is greater than any of us. My position is this: You, Etteh, should abide by the content of your speech. It is not a honour to be a judge in your case. Respect the motion as moved by the ANPP leader, Ndume,” he said.
Matazu said that the House had had enough prevarication on the issue, and begged Etteh to step down.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });