Nigeria Content Online

The unresolved
crisis of the Ogun State House of Assembly, which led security
operatives to seal the Assembly complex over a month ago, will be
discussed by the Senate this week.

A Senator in the
National Assembly representing Ogun State, Lekan Mustapha, disclosed
this weekend in an interview with journalists in Ijebu-Ode.

The house had given
the lawmakers a week, which expired at the weekend, to resume
deliberations or have the powers to make laws for the state taken over
by Representatives. The House of Representatives is expected to
announce its decision during the plenary on Tuesday.

Mr Mustapaha said
the Senate has also agreed to intervene in the crisis, which started
after a group of nine lawmakers in the house met to suspend 15 of their
colleagues, including the Speaker of the assembly.

“I can tell you
that within a very short time, a decision will be taken by the Senate,
that decision I don’t know what it will be,” he said. “Definitely, a
decision will be taken. What the House of Representatives has done is a
welcome development. Definitely the reaction of the Senate will also
come.

“We are all members
of the National Assembly, when they do something like that, it comes to
the Senate for our concurrent agreement and if we do it first, it also
go to House of Representatives for concurrent. We have a bond to take a
decision on it.”

Mr Mustapaha, who
is Chairman of the Senate Committe on Interior, said it is the
responsibility of national leaders to take steps to resolve the issue
without minding whose ox is gored.

“A lot of
insinuations is being peddled round that people are not willing to
resolve the matter, because certain individuals are involved and don’t
want to offend those people. I don’t want to believe that, because laws
are not made for specific people, laws are made for the generality of
the people,” he said.

Mr Mustapha, who is also seeking second term in the upper chambers,
added that he was sure something will be done about the matter in the
next few days, “because we can’t continue like this and take people for
granted”.