How Mark escaped fresh impeachment plan

Taiwo Adisa, Abuja - 31.03.2008

DESPITE the deluge of accolades being poured on the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, by his colleagues and the quiet among them about the jostle for his seat, the Senate President, two weeks ago, escaped what would have flagged off an impeachment plot against him.

Sources in the Senate told the Nigerian Tribune that some senators who were concerned about the financial status of their colleagues in view of the non-payment of their salaries and allowances as a result of the delay in the passage of budget 2008 had approached the Senate President on the need for the upper chamber to raise some loans for members.

It was gathered that the team suggested that a loan of N3 million could be raised for each senator ahead of the Eid-el-Maloud and Easter celebrations.

But the Senate President was said to have been reluctant in accepting the request as he was said to have reminded them of the decision of the current Senate not to borrow funds from banks.

The senators were said to have persuaded him on the need for the Senate, as an institution, to help its members out of the financial crisis the budget delay might have put some of them, especially in view of the need to touch their constituencies during the festivities.

When the matter was discussed at a closed session preceding the festive period, most senators agreed that they would accept the offer of financial assistance if the Senate could do that.

The decision was, however, modified to mean that the Senate could guarantee at an unnamed bank up to N3 million for any of its members who needed to defray some costs ahead of the payment of their allowances.

What would have landed the Senate President on the proverbial banana peel was the suggestion that he should organise the loans in such a way that the senators would not have to take them directly from the banks.

It was suggested that the Senate President should ensure that the total sum that could go round each senator at N3 million each was cashed and distributed directly to the senators, rather than have the senators approach the banks upon Senate’s guarantee.

A source said that those behind the thinking were of the opinion that some senators were already indebted to the banks and that despite the guarantee from the Senate, they might not be able to get the facility.

Unknown to the Senate President, those behind the advice had concluded arrangements to leak the information to the media once the funds were being distributed.

“The Senate leadership immediately rejected that advice and insisted that it was better the loans were guaranteed, while leaving individual senators to sort out their peculiarities with their individual banks,” a source at the Senate said.

It was learnt that the groundwork had been concluded to paint the disbursement as Mark’s Easter largesse, something that would have attracted the attention of the anti-graft agencies.