A former senator from the Kaduna Central Senatorial District has criticized lawmakers for using the media to voice their opposition to Rivers State’s use of voice voting for the confirmation of a state of emergency.
According to Shehu Sani, any legislator who wanted to voice such a concern should have done so in the National Assembly’s chambers rather via the press.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers was subject to a vote by the National Assembly.
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But instead of following the law’s requirements to count members to confirm that the Assembly had a quorum, the leadership of both houses decided to use voice voting.
Serving legislator Ireti Kingibe denounced the vote procedure shortly after it was denounced by other individuals, including Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, and the People’s Democratic Party.
According to Sani’s response, any objections must be made inside the chambers rather than outside or in the media.
He wrote on X, “If any lawmaker had issues with voice votes or quorum, he or she is supposed to raise a point of order on the floor and insist
on being heard; and not be silent in the chamber then come to the media to raise objections.
“If there is no quorum, it’s because some lawmakers deliberately chose to abstain,” Sani noted.
