Dino vs Oluremi: A tale of two senators

Executive sessions in Nigeria’s National Assembly are done behind closed doors. That’s the practice.

However, doors to Nigerian parliaments are naturally flung open at plenaries, thus giving interested Nigerians and particularly the media the opportunity to partake, albeit as muted observers, in the goings on there.

Many had argued in the past that it is at plenary sessions that one gets to see some elements of decorum by some lawmakers, while Executive sessions are often tensed, with platitudinous vituperations.

These people say anyone wanting to hear the truth about issues among lawmakers had better attend Executive sessions. Sadly, it is not open to non-legislators and so it is often difficult for the common man to authenticate what transpired there.

There was such an Executive session of the Nigerian Senate, last Tuesday, which sent Nigerians wondering what manner of parliament the 8th National Assembly is turning out to be. It was reported that two Senators were at each other’s throats, in the end, losing their cool.

Insiders told reporters that Senators Dino Melaye and Oluremi Tinubu (both of the ruling APC) had, during the session, casted aspersions against each other’s personalities, calling each other names, and so throwing caution to the winds. They were said to have been far from being distinguished and thus bringing disrepute to the Red Chamber.

The Lagos senator was said to have fired the first salvo when, apparently trying to shield the first president of his party from purported impeachment moves, as the story has it. But Melaye, whose record as member of the House of Representatives was far from being admirable, would not want the female colleague stand in his way.

Senator Tinubu was alleged to have said the Kogi senator’s behaviours could be likened to that of a kindergarten (Melaye later claimed she called him a thug and a dog). The report further said that Melaye, who felt irritated by the woman’s outburst, allegedly threatened to beat her up and that ‘nothing will happen.’ There have been many versions of the incident behind closed doors.

A spokesman of the national leader of the APC, who is also the husband of the female senator, reacting to the alleged threat of physical attack against the woman, went on social media to say ‘something will happen’ if Melaye dare touch his colleague.

Not done with the hullabaloo, Melaye assembled newsmen in Abuja on Thursday where he cleared the air. He mentioned all that he said and all that he claimed he did not say.

He denied that he threatened to beat up Remi Tinubu, but Dino has never been known to be a coward. He told the newsmen all that he said behind closed doors. Hear him: “It is fallacious, malicious and a lie that I said I will impregnate Mrs. Tinubu. Biologically, it is even impossible to impregnate Mrs. Tinubu because she has arrived menopause.

“…Because she acted in the manner she did not one senator stood up in her defense when I was tongue lashing her.” He even admitted tongue-lashing his fellow senator.

Melaye also pounced on another colleague, Senator Borrofice, when he claimed the latter condemned his action against Sen. Tinubu. He continued, “Unfortunately, this expatriate senator, absentee senator, called Senator Borrofice was not even in the Chamber and he has not been in the chamber for the past two months.”

Melaye rejected the insinuation that the purported impeachment of the president was mentioned at all.

All said and done, it is clear that the two senators’ actions are less charitable. For Melaye and his tantrums, he needs to mellow down and be more civil while Mrs. Tinubu also should understand the sensitivity of her position as a senator. There is need for more decorum in the red Chamber.

Let well-meaning Nigerians call the two senators to order and allow full legislative work to continue without rancour.