Ken Nnamani, president of the Nigerian senate from April
2005 to May 2007, says he sacrificed his senate career after seeing to the
truncation of the bid to give a third term to President Olusegun Obasanjo in
2006.
Although Obasanjo has repeatedly denied he was involved in
the plan to amend the constitution and grant him an extra term, Nnamami said
senators elected on the platform of then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
were promised automatic tickets in the 2007 elections if they voted in favour
of the bid.
In his newly released book, ‘Standing Strong: Legislative
Reforms, Third Term and Other Issues of the 5th Senate’, Nnamani wrote on the
clandestine meetings that were held to push the third term agenda.
The senate dropped the proposed amendment on May 16, 2006
after a voice vote.
“In my own case, my reelection to the senate was foreclosed
because I was marked out as the principal figure among those that ended the
infamous project,” Nnamani said.
He said he knew he would not be given a level-playing field
in the party primary so “I opted to take the High Road and stay out of the
contest”.
Promises were made before the senate vote assuring many of
the supporters of a straight ticket back to the national assembly.
Huge sums of money were also said to have been offered to
the lawmakers to back the third term agenda.
Nnamani said he rejected all offers, like many others,
adding that “it was the least sacrifice” he could make to ensure that the
constitution amendment process “was not abused”.
“We lost the opportunity of continuing with a crop of
lawmakers who had gained experience in the culture of legislation but who were
brazenly denied their party’s ticket because they stood against autocracy. The
political party system as nurtured by Obasanjo was one where the party and the
governors were in the pouch of the president and from the comfort of his
bedroom he decided who went where,” he wrote.
President Muhammadu Buhari will be special guest of honour
at the public presentation of the book on Thursday in Abuja.
Theophilus Danjuma, a retired general and former army chief,
will be the chairman.
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