Anietie Udobit
Senator Mao Ohuabunwa has said that no senator can stop
people of Abia North from having voice in Senate. Ohuabunwa, who made the call
while answering questions from journalists in Umuahia yesterday, said the upper
chamber of National Assembly had not said anything about the vacant seat of
Abia North in the Senate.
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Recall that Senator Kalu, who is the Senate Chief Whip of
the 9th Assembly, and the incumbent senator representing the people Of Abia
North, was found guilty by a federal
High Court in Lagos on fraud charges and remanded at Ikoyi Correctional Center.
He was convicted and sentenced to 12 years after the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission filed N7.65billion fraud charge against him.
Senator Mao said the red chamber would respond when the
people of Abia North stood up and said that they wanted their voices to be
heard in the Senate. He said the Constitution is very clear on when to declare
the seat of a Senator vacant.
“The case of Orji Uzor kalu is different from the case of
Senator Joshua Dariye and if the people of Abia North stand up today and say
they want their voices to be heard in the Senate, definitely, the Senate will
speak. But if, as a senatorial district, we keep quiet, we will be taken for
granted. The construction is very clear, following the amendment of the
Constitution, which gives 60 days if you don’t attend sitting, your seat should
be declared vacant.
“Most of the things we do in the Senate is about voice. It’s
about lobbying, it’s about integrity and contact. It’s not about me. It’s about
the people of Abia North. When the time comes, they know what to do, no senator
can stop the people of Abia North from having a voice in the Senate, while he
or she is there speaking for their own people, the same Constitution, says
every constituency must be represented,” he said.