A motion to immortalise the late Professor Humphrey Nwosu was rejected by the Nigerian Senate on Wednesday after a tense debate, raising significant controversy among lawmakers.
The motion, introduced by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and co-sponsored by members of the minority caucus from the South-East, sought to recognise Professor Nwosu’s contributions to the democratic electoral process, particularly his defence of the June 12, 1993, presidential election. The motion, titled ‘Urgent Need to Immortalise Professor Humphrey Nwosu,’ aimed to honour his role in that historic election.
However, the debate quickly turned contentious when Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, raised a point of order, claiming that lawmakers had not been provided with copies of the motion. This, he argued, was a procedural issue and a breach of Senate rules. Senator Abaribe responded by insisting that the documents were indeed available, which led to a charged atmosphere in the chamber.
Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, who was presiding over the session, acknowledged the motion’s contentious nature, referencing the divided public opinion surrounding Prof. Nwosu’s involvement in the annulled 1993 election. “It’s controversial. Some see him as one of those who truncated June 12, others say he was a hero of democracy,” Jibrin said.
When the motion was eventually put to a voice vote, the majority of lawmakers voted against it, effectively rejecting the proposal. Senator Abaribe’s attempt to reintroduce the motion under different procedural orders was also declined by the Senate Leader, who explained that the time for such action had passed, further escalating tensions in the chamber.
A visibly frustrated Senator Abaribe expressed his discontent, asking, “What is wrong with this motion? What is wrong with immortalizing Prof. Nwosu?”
Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, who supported Abaribe’s motion, warned against creating a “dangerous precedent” that could suppress lawmakers from raising crucial issues. “We must allow people to speak. If we don’t, we are saying that whenever things go wrong, we cannot intervene to correct them,” Abdullahi stated.
In response, the Deputy Senate President pointed out inconsistencies in Abaribe’s approach to the motion, saying, “You approached me to bring the motion under Order 50 and 51, but you later changed it to Order 42. This is a process.” He advised Abaribe to resubmit the motion on the next legislative date.
South-East Senators, including Senator Patrick Ndubaeze and Senator Victor Umeh, expressed their dissatisfaction with the rejection of the motion. Umeh, visibly upset, struck the table in frustration, asking, “What is the meaning of this? We can’t continue to do things this way. What is going on?”
