*File sent to Ministry of Justice *Buhari angry over how Clerk gate crashed into Ramadan dinner *Ekweremadus fate unknown The Police appear to have established a case of forgery of the Senate Standing Orders 2015
which paved the way for the June 9, 2015
emergence of Dr. Bukola Saraki as Senate
President and Chief Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy
Senate President. There were indications yesterday that the police
might charge the  Clerk to the National
Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa to  court  for
the alleged forgery of the Standing Orders. Maikasuwa may be arraigned with some staff of
the National Assembly suspected of having
played one role or the other in the drafting of
the rules. But the fate of Ekweremadu who was one of
those quizzed by the Police in the course of their
investigation into the matter was unknown last
night. Police sources declined to discuss his fate. Already, the case file has been sent to the
Federal Ministry of Justice for advice and
prosecution. Besides the Standing Orders matter, the Clerk is
also said to be facing  a fresh crisis on how he
was selected to be part of a Ramadan dinner
(Iftar) with President Muhammadu Buhari while
under investigation by the Police. The Presidency is investigating alleged breach of
protocol by the Clerk by attending the breaking
of fast with the President. Investigation in Abuja showed that the Police,
acting on a petition by six Senators, believed
that the Senate Standing Orders 2015 was
forged. According to findings, the Police team, led by
Deputy Inspector-General Danazumi Job Doma,
discovered many anomalies in the said Senate
Standing Orders. The   Police findings include the followings: *The Senate Standing Orders 2007(as amended)
was still in force when the 7th Senate wound up. *There was no time the 7th Senate amended the
Standing Orders or any subsisting motion as
shown in the Senate Standing Orders 2015 * The Senate Standing Orders 2015 was strange
and a violation of Paragraph 110 of the Senate
Standing Orders 2007(as amended) *All the principal officers of the 7th Senate
interviewed admitted that the Senate Standing
Orders 2007(as amended) was not reviewed
before their tenure ended. * A clear case of forgery, manipulation, and
tampering has been established. * Those connected with the forgery should be
immediately prosecuted. A top police source said: We have concluded
our investigation and recommended the Clerk to
the National Assembly and a few others for trial. The Clerk presided over the election of some
Principal Officers of the Senate on June 9 with a
forged Standing Orders 2015 when he ought to
know better. As I am talking to you, we have sent the
investigation file to the Federal Ministry of Justice
for Legal Advice and prosecution. The police source said the Senate Standing
Orders 2015 was not in compliance with
Paragraph 110 (1) of the Senate Standing
Orders 2007 (as amended). The source added: The National Assembly
management claimed that it has the prerogative
to set the rules for the election of a new set of
Principal Officers since the 8th Senate was yet to
be inaugurated. They said since nature abhors vacuum, they
did nothing wrong with the Senate Standing
Orders 2015. But when we asked them why they refused to
use Senate Standing Orders 2007as the case
with the 8th Senate, they were not too
convincing. Paragraph 110(1) of the Senate Standing Orders
2007 (as amended) says:  Any Senator desiring
to amend any part of the Rules or adding any
new clause shall give notice of such
amendments in writing to the President of the
Senate giving details of the proposed amendments. The President of the Senate shall within seven
working days of the receipt of the notice, cause
the amendments to be printed and circulated to
members. Thereafter, it shall be printed in the
Order Paper of the Senate. The Mover or Movers of the amendments shall
be allowed to explain in detail the proposed
amendments. Thereafter, the Senate shall decide
by simple majority votes whether the
amendments should be considered or rejected. If the decision is to consider the amendments,
then another date shall be set aside by the Rules
and Business Committee whereby opportunity
would be given to Senators to further propose
amendments but must strictly be confined to the
original amendments. Two-third majority shall decide the amendments and such amendments
shall form part of the Rules of the Senate. Meanwhile, the Clerk to the National Assembly
might be in fresh trouble over how he was
included in the list of those who broke Ramadan
fast with President Buhari while still being
investigated by the police. A breach of protocol was being probed as at
press time. But the President made the Clerk to know that
he was an unwanted guest at the Villa when he
was introduced at the end of the dinner. A source said: When he was introduced to
Buhari for a handshake after the dinner, the
President said: You, how did you get here? If I
knew I would not have allowed you to enter
this place. I think some protocol officers
committed a slip. We did not know how he got onto the list of
the guests of the President. This is why the
President is very strict with his schedule and
aides.