The Senate adjourned abruptly on Wednesday till Thursday, keeping mum on its earlier decision to consider the state of emergency declared in Rivers State by 3pm.
President Bola Tinubu had proclaimed the emergency rule in Rivers on Tuesday following the escalation of the political tension in the oil-rich state.
By the provision of Section 305 (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Senate is mandated to approve the emergency proclamation.
On Wednesday, the matter was listed as the first order of the day on the Senate’s Order Paper.
However, the Leader of the Senate, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele, rose to move a motion that the matter should be stood down and deferred till 3 pm, while senators deliberated on other issues.
His motion was seconded by the Minority Leader, Sen. Abba Moro.
But, at about 2.48pm, Bamidele, on the leave of the President the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, abruptly moved another motion to adjourn the Senate till Thursday.
No further mention of the emergency rule was made or discussed as senators filed out of the chambers.
Findings by the Nigerian Tribune showed that the Senate appeared to be buying time as the number of senators required to pass the resolution was not met on Wednesday.
The Senate will require two-thirds of its total 109 members (73) to pass the emergency declaration made by President Tinubu.
As of the time the Senate deferred the matter to 3pm, care was taken to ensure that the right number of senators was available before the voting would take place.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has 64 senators, but as of 1.40pm on Wednesday, not up to 64 APC senators were at the session.
Assuming all the 64 senators were available, they would still be unable to pass the emergency declaration as they needed more senators from the opposition parties to make up the required 73 total to approve the President’s decision.
However, the Senate did not wait for 3pm before it adjourned proceedings abruptly by 2.48pm.
Aside from the issue of meeting the number, one National Assembly source said that some lawmakers were “being careful, gauging the mood of developments to be sure that the proper thing is done.”
The Senate will reconvene at 11am on Thursday
