9th Assembly starts on friendly note – Sen. Orker Jev

The Senator representing Benue North West Barr. Emmanuel Yisa Orker Jev has said that the 9th Assembly has taken off on a friendly note devoid of the divisions and bitterness that arose from the leadership tussle that characterise the 8th Assembly.

Senator Orker Jev who featured on the Africa Independent Television live program Kaakaki today morning dispelled the fears in some quaters that the 9th Assembly would be a rubber stamp because the current leadership is composed of the preferred candidates of the President. According to him “the National Assembly had been confronted with a scenario in the past where the executive preferred a candidate but members voted otherwise,” he said describing as unfair the rumors that lawmakers were coerced into voting the people they did. He explained that the workings of the House are in such a way that would not give the leadership the powers to unilaterally do as they like.

On fears that the new NASS leadership would victimise members of the opposition parties in the house, the Senator said that both the Senate President Ahmed Lawan and the Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila were themselves members of the opposition before so they were experienced on both sides of the divide and would therefore know how to create the balance in the house for harmonious co-existence for the sake of the legislators and the country.