Senate Invasion: We Can’t Be Intimidated – Ekweremadu

BY AMOS DUNIA, ABUJA – Looking unruffled despite the invasion of the Senate while he was presiding, Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, on Wednesday declared at a reconvened session that the Upper legislative chamber and indeed the National Assembly would not be intimidated by threats to it.

Senator Ekweremadu also said that the National Assembly would stand firmly by the nation’s democracy and defend it.

He said that two senators were almost kidnapped in the commotion that ensued from theft of the mace which is the symbol of authority of the Senate.

Suspended Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (APC Delta) accompanied by some thugs had on Wednesday forced his way into the Senate during plenary session and carted away the mace.

Ekweremadu noted that the Omo-Agege led thugs forcefully took away the mace of the Senate and they easily passed through the entrance door of the Senate, all the security gates and left the National Assembly with the mace without being challenged.

Ekweremadu further said; “They attempted kidnapping two of our senators but we decided that we will not be intimidated by this circumstance.

“It is an affront on democracy, it is an affront on the Senate, it is an affront on the National Assembly, and it is an affront on our parliament.

“But we are going to stand together to ensure that we continue the assignment Nigerians gave us to represent them. We are going to get to the root of this matter.

“I believe that I speak the minds of all of you here if I say that security agencies must recover our mace within seven days.”

His position however created an uproar by visibly angry Senators who protested over the seven-days notice for the recovery of the Senate’s mace, thus had to quickly amended it to read within 24hours.

Accordingly, Ekweremadu said; “We are giving the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), 24 hours to recover our mace.”