FG withdraws Mark, Tambuwal passports


PDP Crisis: NASS principal officers, members’ diplomatic passports withdrawn

The Federal Government on Saturday ordered the withdrawal of all diplomatic passports of National Assembly (NASS) members, including that of Senate President David Mark and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal.

We can confirm that the relevant Federal Government offices responsible for implementing the directive are already in the know.

No reason was given for the action, but sources said it was not unconnected with the level of opposition the Presidency is currently facing among the National Assembly members which got to feverish peak last week.

The implication of the Federal Government’s action is that all 109 senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives would no longer enjoy the special travel privileges the blue-coloured passport confers on its holder when they travel abroad.

The withdrawal of the diplomatic passports of the senators and members of the House of Representatives is coming barely 24 hours after the Presidency sacked Senator Joy Emordi as its Special Adviser on National Assembly matters.

Sources in a position to know the power play in Aso Rock told Sunday Independent that even though it was the crisis in the ruling party that necessitated the action, members of the opposition party in the Assembly are also being affected.

With the loss of their diplomatic passports, the NASS members no longer have immunity against arrest any time they travel abroad, a script, we gathered last night from our sources, was the motive for the action.

Also, the real reason for Emordi’s sack, Sunday Independent was told by unimpeachable source, is her bluntness to President Goodluck Jonathan in last Thursday’s meeting with the Presidency.

Emordi was called to explain the turn of event in the National Assembly where the opposition against the President appears to be swelling and how to stem the tide by effecting a change of leadership in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

The Presidency, it was gathered, reasoned that both Senate President, Mark and House of Representatives Speaker, Tambuwal were tacitly siding with the Abubakar Kawu Baraje faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that it was urgent to shop for their replacement.

At the Thursday’s meeting in the Villa, our source said Emordi was taken to task on the happenings in the NASS, particularly the leadership as well as her view on the alleged disbursement of cash to NASS members through a Presidency’s point man, Bethel Amadi, a member of the House of Representatives from Imo State at the popular Bolingo Hotel, Abuja.

But Emordi, at the meeting, pointedly told the President that the idea of using cash to buy the support of members of NASS was wrong approach, because events of the past in the NASS had shown that it was capable of having a negative effect.

Our source said she told the Presidency that she had been in the Senate and understands how members think. In fact, she reportedly told the President that the idea was dumb, our source said.

After the meeting, the source said Presidency concluded that Emordi was sympathetic to the NASS leadership whose rank it has been finding it difficult to break. Mark, it was also gathered, had out of concern for Emordi before her sack, wondered why she was sticking out her neck that much for the lawmakers.

But less than 24 hours, Emordi’s sack was announced by Special Adviser to President Jonathan on media, Reuben Abati. No reason was given for her sack.

It also emerged that as its game plan to effect a change of leadership in both House of Representatives and Senate or make them shift ground, the Presidency has started enlisting the support of political opponents of key leaders of the NASS.

One of such recruits is Lawrence Onoja, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) senatorial candidate for Benue South in the 2011 election. Onoja contested against Mark. He is now leading a group from the Middle-Belt region which is canvassing support for Jonathan ahead of the 2015 election.

The thinking in Aso Rock is that if Mark does not play ball with the Presidency, Onoja, it was gathered, might be the next senator representing Benue South-Senatorial zone.

For the Deputy Speaker of the House, Emeka Ihedioha who wants to become governor of Imo State in 2015, it was also gathered that despite his closeness to the Presidency the latter is propping up Amadi, Ihedioha’s political rivalry, to put the Deputy Speaker under check.

Sunday Independent gathered last night that what is playing out in NASS currently, particularly the House of Representatives, is still a fall out of the grievance of the PDP top shots over the circumstances that threw up the Tambuwal/Ihedioha leadership.

Regardless, we can confirm that house principal officers have vowed to remain united even in the face of high-wire politicking going on in the PDP.

PDP crisis: Senators, Reps may lose diplomatic passports



There is no let up in the war of attrition wracking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as it has emerged the Federal Government is set to withdraw diplomatic passports issued to all members of the National Assembly – 109 senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives.

The Presidency has directed the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to “review” the diplomatic passports of the legislators.

The move, sources say, is one of the strategies to “whip Senators and Representatives” into line and secure their loyalty.

Following the eruption of the crisis in the ruling party, government has been uncomfortable with the romance between the ‘New PDP’ faction led by one-time Acting National Chairman, Abubakar Kawu Baraje and the opposition in the National Assembly.

Besides the disruption last week of the visit of Group of Seven (G-7) governors and Baraje faction to the National Assembly, as well as the sacking of the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emordi, the ongoing review of the diplomatic passports is said to be part of a crackdown on the ‘disloyal’ members of the National Assembly.

The present exclusive travel document carried by the lawmakers is a product of an executive memo issued by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2008 directing the NIS to grant members of the National Assembly diplomatic passports. The passports were, however, to be automatically withdrawn after the tenure of the holders in the National Assembly.

Although the NIS had always been finding it difficult to retrieve the diplomatic passports from former members of the Assembly, the privilege had been “major bait” being used by the Executive to stabilise its relationship with the lawmakers.

Sources within the administration told The Nation on Sunday that the Presidency was uncomfortable with what they referred to as the “treacherous attitude” of certain members of the National Assembly – particularly those who have openly pitched their tent with ‘New PDP’.

Some principal officers of the National Assembly have been informed of plans to review the diplomatic passports of members. “I am aware that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and some principal officers have been informally notified,” one lawmaker who craved anonymity said.

A few members of the House who were shocked at the turn of events believe government was hiding under the supposedly wholesale review to target anti-presidency lawmakers.

“We learnt the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigeria Immigration Service have been put on notice over plans to review issuance of diplomatic passports”, the source said. “It is an issue we are going to discuss at the Executive Session after we have returned from our one week oversight function.

“Since we started using diplomatic passports, the National Assembly has not recorded any case of abuse. We don’t know why the Presidency is trying to score political points with this.”

A senior official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who spoke in confidence, however, denied knowledge of the development. “It may interest you to know that our ministry has nothing to do with the issuance of diplomatic passport. In fact, if I want a diplomatic passport, my ministry would have to write the Nigeria Immigration Service to issue it to me.

“Do leave this ministry out of this issue; we have no role to play,” he said.

At the Immigration office a senior official who promised to clarify the matter by Monday morning, however, raised question as to the propriety of issuing the special travel documents to the legislators in the first place.

“Are members of the National Assembly entitled to diplomatic passports at all?” he asked. “Go and look at the convention guiding the issuance of diplomatic passports all over the world. The truth is, members of the National Assembly do not belong to the category of people that should carry diplomatic passport.

“It is only in Nigeria we have this kind of nonsense. People want immunity for notorious reasons. I know some big men go about with diplomatic passports. When I was working at the airport, I was shocked when I saw a rogue with one. We should learn to do things in line with international best practices.”

Another Immigration officer said: “We have our records showing that the Premier of the defunct Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Premier of the former Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello (the Sardauna of Sokoto) and the Premier of the defunct Eastern Region, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, did not use diplomatic passports while in office. Are any of these lawmakers in the class of these great leaders?”

A brief obtained on issuance of diplomatic passports reads in part: “Diplomatic passports are official documents normally given to professional diplomats and ambassadors by their governments, to facilitate their work when they are on posting to foreign countries. Its issuance is governed by rules under the 1815 Congress of Vienna that formalised the exchange of diplomatic agents among states.

“These rules are very restrictive and limit the issuance of diplomatic passports only to professional diplomats who are the personal representatives of their heads of state. Those to whom such passports are given are assumed to be persons of undoubted character and integrity.”

tnktosin: Hmmmm... a drowning man.

eGuerrilla: The Presidency has my undiluted support here.
Let's make these overpaid legislators feel the pain of the common man by queuing up at foreign embassies across the land.

caseless: Like winston churchill said "if u stop and throw stones at every dog that barks on your way , you may never get to where you are going".
This presidency seems to be throwing stones not only at dogs, but also at lions, tigers, hyena, bear, pythons,etc, it sees standing on its way. What more can predict the humilliating shambles that the presidency wil be thrown into b4 2015 than this action and path the president has chosen?
#TEAM G-7 And others in the NASS.

Idi Amin: And who cares? Mtcheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew

Another Immigration officer said: “We have
our records showing that the Premier of the
defunct Western Region, Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, Premier of the former Northern
Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello (the Sardauna of
Sokoto) and the Premier of the defunct
Eastern Region, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, did not
use diplomatic passports while in office. Are
any of these lawmakers in the class of these
great leaders?”

The Presidency, it was gathered, reasoned that both Senate President, Mark and House of Representatives Speaker, Tambuwal were tacitly siding with the Abubakar Kawu Baraje faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that it was urgent to shop for their replacement.

At the Thursday’s meeting in the Villa, our source said Emordi was taken to task on the happenings in the NASS, particularly the leadership as well as her view on the alleged [size=16pt]disbursement of cash to NASS members through a Presidency’s point man[/size], Bethel Amadi, a member of the House of Representatives from Imo State at the popular Bolingo Hotel, Abuja.

[size=16pt]But Emordi, at the meeting, pointedly told the President that the idea of using cash to buy the support of members of NASS was wrong approach[/size], because events of the past in the NASS had shown that it was capable of having a negative effect.

Our source said she told the Presidency that she had been in the Senate and understands how members think. In fact, she reportedly told the President that the idea was dumb, our source said.

[size=16pt]But less than 24 hours, Emordi’s sack was announced by Special Adviser to President Jonathan on media, Reuben Abati. No reason was given for her sack[/size].

Idi Amin: And who cares? Mtcheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew

crown777: Jonathan met with the Queen of England.

He asked her, "How do you run such an efficient government? Are there any tips u can give to me? I want to help Nigeria."

"Well," said the Queen, "the most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people."

Jonathan frowned, and then asked,"But how do i know the people around me are really intelligent?"

The Queen replied, "Oh, that's easy, you just ask them to answer an intelligent riddle." The Queen pushed a button on her intercom. "Please send David Cameron in here, would you?"

David Cameron walked into the room and said,"Yes, your majesty?"

The Queen smiled and said, "Answer this riddle. David, your mother and father have a child, it is not your brother and it is not your sister. Who is it?" Without pausing for a minute David Cameron answered, "that would be me."

"Yes, very good," said the Queen.

Jonathan went back home to ask his Vice President Sambo.

JONATHAN: Answer this. Your mother and your father have a child, it's not your brother and it's not your sister, who is it?

SAMBO: "I'm not sure, let me get back to you."

He asked all his staff in the Office but none could give him an answer. Finally, one day, VP Sambo ran into Dora Akunyili. Sambo asked, Dora,

SAMBO: Your mother and father have a child and it's not your brother or sister, who is it?"

Dora answered sharply, "That's easy, its me!" Sambo smiled,and said "Thanks!"

Then he went back to speak with President Jonathan.

Sambo: Sir, I have the answer to that riddle, It's Dora Akunyili!

Jonathan got angry,he said to Sambo. "No wonder Nigeria isn't moving forward, I am surrounded by Dummies! The answer is David Cameron!"

WHO IS MORE INTELLIGENT?


I rest my case..

Agimor: Does that supposed to be a news... hissss