Senate President and Chairman of Nigeria’s National Assembly, Senator David Mark, on Friday provided insights into what led him to visit the House of Representatives in the heat of the pandemonium which overtook the National Assembly yesterday.
Already, Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger state have appealed to the President of the Senate to tamper justice with mercy and forgive Hon. Abdul Malik Usman Cheche (PDP Niger) who assaulted him on the floor of the House when he visited.
Mark, in a statement delivered by his office to DAILY POST, explained that he was in the House “to ascertain the safety of Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and his colleagues having received reports that canisters of tear gas were targeted at the Lawmakers.
“I also went to confer with Mr. Speaker on the need to suspend plenary in both Chambers in order to restore sanity to an environment that had turned restive and becoming uncontrollable.
“My intention was to safeguard the sanctity of the hallowed Chamber and to guarantee the respect of the legislature. I consider the unwarranted and needless attack on my person by Hon. Abdulmalik Usman Cheche as a prize and sacrifice for leadership. It is a sacrifice I am prepared to accept.
“I bear no ill feeling. AbdulMalik is my colleague. I have forgiven him. I believe we can continue to work together in the interest of peace and sustenance of democracy.
“Like I have repeatedly said, I will do anything necessary to keep the sanctity of the parliament as an institution and safeguard the respect of every legislator,” the statement noted.
While enjoining all political actors to always put the nation first before personal ambitions, Mark appealed for restraint with regards to actions that adds no value to the nation’s hard-earned democracy.
“We should remain guided by the rules no matter how strongly we perceive our positions to be the most appropriate,” he said.
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