Index to Nigerian Newspapers

The Senate has confirmed receipt of President Muhammadu Buhari's medical vacation extension letter, stating that there is no need to recall senators for plenary to debate the matter. The upper chamber confirmed the letter, stating that the president had complied with the constitution's requirement to be informed about his vacation. Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs Chairman Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi stated that there is no emergency in suspending or recalling the letter, as he has done what he is constitutionally mandated to do. The Senate suspended plenary to carry out the interaction with the MDAs on the 2017 budget. The letter was not indefinite, but it was extending beyond the 10 days he had asked for, as the tests are in the hands of the doctors. The suspension was to allow various committees to attend to the national budget, which is an important document that Nigerians are waiting for.

A row in the Senate ensued after Ondo South senator Yele Omogunwa defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The announcement of Omogunwa's defection led to a walkout when Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki overruled the demand to declare Omogunwa's seat vacant. This may have strained the relationship between majority APC senators and their minority counterparts in PDP. Minority Leader Godswill Akpabio raised a point of order, citing the 1999 Constitution, and argued that there was no leadership crisis in PDP following a Supreme Court judgment. However, Saraki ruled Akpabio out of order, which angered PDP senators. Senator Dino Melaye justified Omogunwa's defection, citing Section 68 (g,h) of the 1999 Constitution. Senator Peter Nwaboshi argued that Melaye's intervention was a breach of procedure. The situation escalated into a row, with PDP senators demonstrating their disapproval of the situation.