Ex-agric minister faults NASS voice vote on Rivers emergency rule 

Nigeria’s former Agriculture Minister Audu Ogbeh has faulted the National Assembly voice vote for the approval of the emergency rule proclamation of President Bola Tinubu in Rivers State.

Ogeh while speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Thursday, said “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.”

Ogbeh, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party between 2001 and 2005, said for future occasions, the lawmakers should explore technological tools and vote individually.

“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, because someday, 10 to 20 years from now, their children and grandchildren and researchers would like to find out how individuals voted on particular bills,” he said.

The former Minister said rather than impose a state of emergency on the oil-rich state, the president should have called notable Nigerians to mediate in the matter and appeal to the warring parties to sheathe their swords.

He said, “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.”