Abaribe shuts down NASS over Nnamdi Kanu: Fake news, says Aide
BY PATRICK WEMAMBU
A press statement issued Friday evening by Uchenna Awom, Media Aide to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe has clarified that the news making the rounds earlier in the day regarding the shutting down of the National Assembly by Abaribe demanding immediate release of Mazi Nnamdi Kalu is false.
Urging the general public to disregard what it described as fake news, the statement was explicit about the report in question being not only false but at best a concoction that defies logic.
Said it; “The attention of the office of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe has been drawn to a false and very misleading report purporting a disruption of Senate Plenary by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe demanding the immediate release of Nnamdi Kanu.
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“It was a deliberate misinformation that insinuates a sinister motive aimed at sabotaging the ongoing efforts at exploring political solution to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Distinguished Senator Abaribe was last seen on the Senate floor last Wednesday and travelled out of Abuja on Thursday for an oversight function in Ikwuano Umuahia, Abia State organised by the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).”
Specifying that the Senate does not sit on Fridays but conducts its plenary sessions from Tuesdays to Thursdays, the statement pooh-poohed the claim of a shutdown of the National Assembly on a Friday which it viewed as baseless.
It went on; “Matters that are sub-judice (under judicial consideration) are not debated in the Senate – The case of Nnamdi Kanu is currently before the courts, and as a rule, the National Assembly does not interfere in judicial proceedings.
“Therefore, Senator Abaribe couldn’t have embarked on such effort knowing it’s futility. The truth is that he did not lead any protest or obstructed legislative proceedings (this Friday).
The general public was, therefore, advised to disregard the said fabricated report and refrain from sharing unverified information.
Earlier in the day, a certain Ejike Ofoegbu (may be not a real name) issued what he termed Breaking News to the effect that chaos had erupted at the National Assembly Friday as Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe took a dramatic stand – demanding the immediate release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Senator Abaribe was said to have shut down the National Assembly.
The report had stated that; “The senator (Abaribe) who previously stood as a surety for Kanu’s bail, vowed that legislative proceedings would not continue until his demand was met.
“Abaribe arrived at the National Assembly wielding a placard and blocking key access roads, declaring that “enough is enough.” He insisted that the prolonged detention of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader was unjust and against the rule of law.”
The false news even quoted the Senator representing Abia South East Senatorial District since 2007 as saying; “As a surety, I have always stood with Nnamdi Kanu, and I will continue to do so until justice prevails. From this moment, nothing will function in Nigeria until Kanu is released, as required by law. The Igbo people are not fools – we have been patient long enough. If President Tinubu insists on lawlessness, then let it be total lawlessness.”
