The former national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Audu Ogbeh, has said someday senators and House of Representatives’ members’ grandchildren will probe how they voted to approve the emergency rule proclamation of President Bola Tinubu in Rivers State.
Also, Audu, who was Minister of Agriculture (November 2015 to May 2019), suggested modalities for individual voting at the National Assembly.
He spoke on Channels TV’s “Politics Today” after the Senate and the House of Representatives backed Rivers emergency rule by voice votes.
According to Ogbeh, “Ayes and nays do not give us a clear picture of the position and the moral authority of individual senators or members of the House.
“Nobody should hide under a shadow. If you want a vote, say so; if you don’t want it, say so. But this ayes and nays is a camouflage, it doesn’t work.
“When the matter came before the National Assembly for voting, I would like to suggest to the National Assembly to install a capacity in the future for individual voting which they can print out; not ayes and nays.
“Someday, 10 to 20 years from now, their children and grandchildren and researchers would like to find out how individuals voted on particular bills.”
Ogbeh also commented on possible effect of the Rivers crisis on the Niger Delta region.
“Rivers State is bigger than any individual. We as a country and as countrymen are not interested in watching a situation where Rivers State and the entire Niger Delta will go up in flames.
“Nigeria has lived off the Niger Delta for 40 years. We appreciate what they have done for Nigeria because their oil has been fuelling our expenditure.
“Nobody wants a crisis in the Niger Delta,” Ogbeh said.
Ogbeh added that President Tinubu should have called notable Nigerians to mediate in the Rivers matter and appeal to the warring parties to sheathe their swords.
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