The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, yesterday said President Muhammadu Buhari’s aides were not witnessing against the presiding officers of the Senate in the prosecution for alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Orders.
He also apologised to the Senate on the statement credited to the Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution, Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, that the Upper Chamber had no jurisdiction to invite the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in respect of the forgery prosecution.
Enang, who made this apology while clarifying his actual role as a witness in the prosecution of the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki and the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, told journalists in Abuja, that he was listed as a witness, to explain procedure for amending the Senate Standing Orders.
The politician, who was the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business in the Seventh Senate, noted that he was brought into the matter because of his position in the last Senate because the Rules and Business Committee superintends over the rules and business of the Chamber.
He said: “Further to false publications and insinuations that Presidential Aides have been Iined up against the presiding officers of the Senate and others in the prosecution relating to the Standing Orders of the Senate 2015 citing me as one of those thus lined up, l hereby state as hereunder; “That this is false in all material particulars. That I was the chairman of the ‘Rules and Business Committee’ of the 7th Senate which ended plenary on June 4, 2015 and the 8th Senate was inaugurated on June 9, 2015.
“That upon a written petition to the police on the subject of alleged forgery of the STANDING Orders by some Distinguished Senators of the 8th Senate the lnspector General of Police through one D l G DIG Dan Azumi J. Doma wrote to the Clerk to the National Assembly vide his letter dated July 1, 2015 requestinq him to ask the under mentioned key officials of the 7th SENATE to have an audience with the under signed on or before 6th July 2015; “Senate President, Deputy Senate President Majority Leader of the Senate, Clerk of the National Assembly, Clerk of Senate, Chairman‚ Business Rules, and Secretary, Business and Rules Committee.”
Enang said it would be wrong for anyone to misconstrue his current involvement as a witness in the alleged forgery trial of the leadership of the Senate.
On the offensive statement credited to the Special Assistant to President Buhari on Public Prosecution, Obono-Oblo against the Senate committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and legal matters, Enang apologised to the upper chamber.
He said: “I heard the statement by the Special Assistant to President on Public Prosecution Mr Okoi Obono – Oblo and I want to apologise to Distinguished Senate, to the Committee on Judiciary and to the distinguished Senators because that statement ought not to have been made and the Attorney General is the Attorney General of the Federation appointed by the President and cleared by the Senate and responsible to the Federation.”