The Minority Leader of the House, Mr. Leo Ogor, had introduced the proposal on the floor of the House on Tuesday, setting the stage for a rowdy session. The bill sought to amend Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution to include the Senate President, Speaker, Deputy Senate President, Deputy Speaker and presiding officers of state legislatures, among the other political office holders covered by the immunity clause. Under the extant provision, only the President, Vice-President, state governors and their deputies enjoy immunity from prosecution for as long as they remain in office. But Ogor’s proposal, coming at a time Saraki and his deputy, Mr. Ike Ekweremadu, were standing trial for the alleged forgery of the Senate’s standing rules, divided lawmakers. Besides the forgery allegation, the Senate President has another case on alleged false assets declaration before the Code of Conduct Tribunal. Many members and non-legislators had queried the timing of the amendment, suspecting that it might be a move to shield Saraki from prosecution. However, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, on Friday said the amendment had nothing to do with Saraki or Dogara. He claimed that the aim was to strengthen the legislature as a democratic institution by shielding presiding officers from “constant harassment and intimidation by another arm of government, particularly the executive.” Namdas, an All Progressives Congress lawmaker from Adamawa State, said the beneficiaries would be “future presiding officers, not Saraki nor Dogara.” He said, “The amendment was not done with any hidden agenda. It is not about immunity for Saraki or Dogara. We are thinking of how to build this institution, which is the mainstay of democracy. We are thinking of good governance where the presiding officers can do their work without distractions. “In any case, an amendment does not mean that the bill has been passed or that we have granted immunity to the presiding officers. Not all members even agreed with the bill. “It was referred to the ad hoc committee on constitution Review for debate. The bill will be analysed there before a report is sent to the whole House. “When it returns to the House, members will still argue over it; whether to adopt it or reject it. “This thing takes time and it doesn’t just happen the way people are beginning to imagine.” A member of the media committee, Mr. Olufemi Adebanjo, said he was among those who opposed the bill because he believed that presiding officers did not deserve immunity. Adebanjo, who represents Alimosho Federal Constituency of Lagos State, stated that he would vote against the bill 100 times if it was raised 100 times. He said, “I will never support this bill. I have other members who will never support it. “Any day that it comes to the House, I will oppose it and continue to oppose it. “The bill has not been passed. It is with the constitution amendment committee. It will come out and all 360 members will still examine it holistically. On this score, there is no cause for alarm; Nigerians should relax.” Speaking on the investigation into the alleged sexual misconduct by three Nigerian lawmakers in the United States last April, Namdas said the committee could visit the US Ambassador if he would not come to the National Assembly. A controversy was thrown up on Thursday as the hearing opened over whether the outgoing US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, who made the allegation, could appear before an investigative panel. Under the Vienna Convention to which Nigeria is a signatory, ambassadors are not to appear before an investigative hearing because of their diplomatic immunity. The Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Relations, Nnena Ukeje, raised the matter at the sitting of the committee. Ukeje, who co-chairs the hearing with the Chairman, House Committee on Ethics/Privileges, Mr. Nicholas Ossai, had argued that the acceptable standard was for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, to meet with Entwistle and report to the committee. But, according to Namdas, the issue could be resolved by the committee which could visit Entwistle to take his testimonies if the ambassador would not appear at the National Assembly. He said, “The committee can adopt that option, though the feeling of many of us is that the ambassador too did not follow the appropriate diplomatic channel when he chose to write the Speaker directly instead of routing his letter through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” The three are the Deputy Chairman, Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Mr. Mark Gbillah (APC, Benue); Mr. Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom); and Mr. Mohammed Garba-Gololo (APC, Bauchi). Garba-Gololo, Gbillah and Ikon were in the US to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Programme on Good Governance organised by the US Government. The three legislators were on a team of 10 members nominated to attend the leadership programme, which took place in Cleveland, Ohio, between April 7 and 13 this year. While there, they allegedly solicited the services of prostitutes through car park attendants and assaulted a female hotel housekeeper. The allegation was contained in a letter Entwistle wrote to Dogara. All the three lawmakers denied the allegations.]]>