Senator David Umaru representing Niger East Senatorial District in the National Assembly has revealed the main reason why legislators recently passed a vote of confidence on Senate President Bukola Saraki.
On Tuesday, September 29, some senators passed a vote of confidence in Saraki, saying they will not bow to external forces trying to use propaganda to oust the senate president.
Umaru, who spoke with reporters on Wednesday, October 7, in Minna, said the lawmakers wanted to prove that they were not a rubber stamp.
He said the senators passed the vote of confidence to protect the integrity and independence of the Senate.
The senator explained that section 50 of the 1999 Constitution and Orders II and VI of the Standing Orders of the Senate empowered the lawmakers to elect their leaders from among themselves.
Umaru said: “The recently concluded election of the National Assembly leaders was purely based on the wisdom and sentiments of the lawmakers to elect from among themselves who they wanted.”
According to him, it was not in the law that they should elect their leader for a president or a party, adding that it was not a crime for the senators to stand against external forces.
He stressed that by that singular act, the senators had exerted their authority.