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The Senate may, on
Tuesday, swear-in Alphonsus Igbeke, of the All Nigeria People’s Party
(ANPP), as the senator representing Anambra North Senatorial Zone,
after almost a month of drama.

The Senate’s
decision, a source said, follows on last week’s ruling of an Appeal
Court sitting in Enugu, ordering the Senate President, David Mark, to
“immediately” swear in Mr. Igbeke (ANPP) as a replacement for Joy
Emordi who, despite previous rulings of the same court ousting her, had
stayed back in the Senate.

Mr. Mark confirmed
to the National Executive Council of ANPP that he would have sworn-in
Mr. Igbeke if the new senator had appeared at the chamber earlier than
he did last week Thursday, when he was denied admittance.

The Senate
President’s confirmation was in a report given to the ANPP’s National
Executive Council in their last meeting held in Abuja on Saturday.

Emmanuel Eneukwu,
the national publicity secretary of ANPP, said the party’s leadership
decided to give the Senate leadership a benefit of the doubt and
present Mr. Igbeke early enough for oath taking on Tuesday, when the
Senate resumes plenary.

Also, unconfirmed
reports said the leadership of the Senate have asked Mrs. Emordi to
stay away from Senate, pending the determination of a fresh case she
instituted in the Supreme Court, hours after the Enugu Appeal Court
ruled against her.

Even so, the
Senate President, in a press release signed by his senior special
assistant on media, Kola Ologbodiyan, said the Senate will never act
unconstitutionally.

No room for illegality

“The attention of
the Office of the President of the Senate has been drawn to news
reports claiming that the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark,
has refused to honour the order of the Court of Appeal asking him to
swear-in Alphonsus Igbeke as Senator representing Anambra North,” the
statement read.

“The President of
the Senate, Mark, has utmost respect for the Judiciary as a partner in
the onerous task of deepening our hard earned democracy. In the extant
case of Joy Emordi and Alphonsus Igbeke, the President of the Senate,
Senator David Mark, and indeed the Senate, has never and will not act
unconstitutionally,” Mr. Kola added.

Mrs. Emordi, who
was senator representing Anambra North Senatorial Zone was, on 25
March, asked to relinquish her seat to Mr. Igbeke by an Enugu Appeal
Court, following a suit filed by Mr. Igbeke claiming he got the
majority vote in April 2007 senatorial elections.

The Senate,
however, re-admitted Mrs. Emordi, following a notice of an application
she filed before the appeal court asking for the interpretation of the
ruling, which she claimed conflicted with an earlier ruling. The same
court had, on 10 February last year, in a separate case, upheld Mrs.
Emordi’s election.

The court, however, held that there was no conflict in its
judgments, pointing out that the judgment of 25 March declared Mr.
Igbeke winner of majority of lawful votes in that election, and that he
was not a part of the 10 February suit and asked the Senate to swear
him in immediately.