Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, a member of the APC senators' Unity Forum, who represents Kaduna North senatorial district, says in this interview that they will go to any length to check the 'aberration' that led to the emergence of Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy Ike Ekweremadu on June 9 and ensure the Senate President respects the decision of the party. Excerpts:

As an insider, could you give an insight into what happened on June 9? Why did your group go to the ICC in spite of presidential proclamation for the 8th National Assembly to be inaugurated at 10.am that day?

In the first place, the Unity Forum is a formation of the senators-elect before the inauguration. It is a body of senators who decided to come together after an induction course organised by the APC almost a month before the proclamation date. The intent of that induction by the APC was to reduce rancour, streamline and remind members of the APC caucus among the senators-elect that we have one unified responsibility of change agenda of this new government, which is brought about by the party and being championed by no other person than the president-elect at that time.

That gave birth to the Unity Forum and saw the collapsing of the two sides of George Akume for Senate president and Ahmad Lawan for Senate president where of the three members of the APC that were aiming at the Senate presidency, two came together with the simple understanding and agreement that Lawan from the North-east should go for the Senate president and Akume from the North-central should go for deputy. All rallied behind them and unified as a group. What happened on June 9 was unfortunate and unfortunately like so many unfortunate things, they are haunting the Senate chamber, the so-called leaders of the Senate, the party, the country and the polity, because there was total derailment.

Two things happened on that day: one was the advent of the APC as a platform that called a quick meeting that was to quickly review and try to quench the fire between the two sides so that at least at the end of the day, the APC leadership under the clarion call of Mr. President was to sit with the members of the APC caucus and provide one unified front that was supposed to stand election later that morning in the chamber of the Senate.

It was a well circulated, intentioned and positioned meeting, which the president, the vice president and leaders of the party across board were to attend. Unfortunately, the Saraki group never answered that clarion call, but instead, they were busy planning how to do a marriage of convenience with the opposition party, the PDP, to produce the leadership of the Senate. The second aspect of what happened that day was that quite a number of the APC senators were not at the National Assembly because they were waiting to have that meeting with Mr President and the leadership of the party. The appearance of the Senate Standing Orders book, which has the responsibility of guiding all aspects and procedures of the Senate, including the promulgation of the Senate and the election of the presiding officers; there was an emergence of another order book, which left so many perplexed and shocked and more numbers confused because the rules book was dubbed 2015 as amended. What that meant was that the Standing Orders book of 2011, which the 7th Senate used until its last day of sitting in the chamber, was reviewed and amended...

By who?

In between the last day of the tenure of the 7th Senate and the first day of the emergence and promulgation of the 8th Senate, a new Standing Order surfaced. Somebody somewhere has to do that explanation, not me, but common sense tells me and Nigerians that definitely the Clerk to the National Assembly, the Clerk to the Senate, the deputy clerk, the presiding officers and of course if there were any amendments, certainly it wasn't by the 7th Senate; it must be by the 8th Senate, so the committee on rules definitely will explain how, when and where there was any review of the Senate Standing Orders of 2011. All those that went through the 7th Senate knew that there was no procedure of amendment of the same Order book.

The Like Minds senators said they were never invited to the meeting at the ICC with Mr President, that it was only your group that was invited. Is that so?

It is not true. The APC called three meetings, which the other group never attended. During the primary election that saw the emergence of the APC sole candidates for the Senate and the House of Reps, this group kept away. Nigerians are aware of that. It was a congregation called by the national headquarters of the APC. Were they not aware of that meeting?

Another meeting was called few days to the inauguration of the 8th Senate by the party under the leadership of the vice president at the International Conference Centre. We attended, but the other group never turned up; they boycotted the meeting.

The message for the meeting of June 9 was well circulated and they received it; they knew it but boycotted it, because they were working in tandem with their new partners, the PDP, in hatching the plan to fraudulently put presiding officers in the Senate not in accordance with the provision of the law. The picture you painted is that of illegality, what’s your next line of action as a forum?

The responsibility of handling the issue of forgery of such a document does not squarely rest on any individual or group of senators. We are likely to do our own bidding, but the Nigerian people first of all need to be aware that such a phenomenon, negative to the growth of democracy in Nigeria, has indeed taken place. That is the responsibility of the press. It is the press that will bring to the notice of the Nigerian people that there was a conspiracy against them, the Constitution of Nigeria and the Senate Standing Orders as well as the promulgation order of the 8th Senate, hence everyone or group has to do its own bidding.

For us, we are definitely taking time, and we’ll go to whatever extent the law will permit to bring them to book and revert to what the law provides; that much we are determined as a group to push to whatever extent the law will permit. Your party forwarded names of nominees for principal officers, but the Senate president announced the ones adopted by APC zonal caucuses, what’s the position of your forum on this?

We stand by the decision of the party, because it did not run riot with the provisions of the Senate Standing Order. In fact, the party abided by the provisions of the relevant sections and orders that guide the procedure of the emergence of principal officers. As far as the Senate is concerned, there is a provision for ranking, which is one cardinal principle that has to be followed. The nominees sent by the party were the highest ranking officers from where they were picked either by states or zonal caucuses.

From the North-east zone, Ahmad Lawan nominated by the APC for Senate leader is higher in ranking than Ali Ndume that the Bukola Saraki group brought and announced as the leader. The party nominated Senator Akume for the deputy leader, and he is higher in ranking to Bala Na’Allah, who the Bukola group brought. They were silent on that of Senator Adeyeye from the South-west, who the APC leadership nominated for chief whip. Therefore, whoever they are willing to bring is definitely going to be lower in ranking than Adeyeye. So, as far as the provision is concerned, the party was right.

Again, the provision of Senate Standing Orders is that the party with the highest number of senators within the chamber shall appoint the principal officers, or that they will be appointed from the party with the highest number of senators. Whichever one you take, it didn’t say the Senate president shall appoint or a caucus of senators within the chamber shall appoint. It says the party. Should a caucus of senators be stronger or more important than the leadership of the party? It is an appointment not election. It is the name of the party that is in the rule book, not the caucus.

Therefore on that, there is no way anybody should bring nomination apart from the party. According to what he said that day, that he was in possession of a letter from the caucuses. Who signed the letters? Are they appointees of the Senate or the party? Who appointed them? Who are they? He never disclosed who signed the letters, but here is a letter duly signed by the national chairman of APC in his possession, but he never mentioned but avoided, denigrated and threw it out of the window and adopted what he felt was a caucus that has no appearance anywhere in the Senate Standing Orders. This is amazing and ridiculous. Where the custodian of the law becomes the person that denigrates the due process of the law itself and picks something on the street and adopts as his guiding and final decision making procedure is unfortunate.

So you don't accept what the Senate president did?

We will never accept what does not conform to the law. We are there to make laws for the nation, and we cannot be part of the aberration of the process of the law. We cannot be part of introduction of the laws that match in less procedure that has been indicated allowable by the procedure of the law. We cannot be seen to be part of that. We will never succumb to whatever blackmail anyone is bringing so long as this does not conform to the procedure of the law of the chamber or the constitution.

The 8th Senate is taking off on a shaky note; what are the implications of this to Senate and the Nigerian democracy?

There is a problem, and that is why we are saying it has to be addressed immediately or else whatever the Senate does from June 9 to that day is a nullity. That is why we are saying to rescue our democracy from the demons, definitely this has to be addressed.

To what extent are you going to ensure that this matter is addressed then? Very quickly, the law court is an option, and we're not throwing any option out of the window. If the leadership of the party calls us any day any time, we'll go and listen. If they are able to find an amicable settlement, so be it; that is another option.