Commission, in the event of the failure of the sub-continental agency to comply with the decisions of the Nigerian judiciary, as well as the executive and legislative arms of government within 60 days.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Ayo Akinyelure, said the Red Chamber would ask the Nigerian government, at the expiration of the ultimatum, to withdraw its membership from the commission if its leadership continued to ignore the pending directives and the resolutions of the Senate demanding the reinstatement of the Nigerian director.
In a ruling on the petition of Lijadu-Oyemade, the Senate panel boss said since Nigeria provides 70 per cent of the ECOWAS funding, the government should protest the injustice of the commission against its citizen, despite a court ruling, senate resolution and a directive by a former Nigerian foreign affairs minister on the matter.
According to him, “If an indigene of Nigeria sacked unjustly was asked to be reinstated by the three arms of the Nigerian government and the instructions were ignored, we have the right to protest.
“A former Minister of Foreign Affairs had written a letter demanding the reinstatement of the sacked director, but all the past presidents of ECOWAS refused to carry out the instruction. “There are court decisions that the woman was innocent of the charges preferred against her, and that she should be reinstated, but the verdicts had equally been ignored.
“The Senate had also passed a resolution in the 8th Senate that the woman should be reinstated. The decision of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is being treated with impunity by ECOWAS Commission.”
Akinyelure added: ‘‘The Senate is saying if the woman is not reinstated within the next 60 days, the Nigerian Senate will have no option but to ask the Federal Government of Nigeria to opt-out of the ECOWAS sub-region and stop further funding.
“We insist that the decision of the court should be respected by the current president of the West African sub-continental agency. If the past presidents of the ECOWAS
The Senate plans to organise Zonal Public Hearings on the 1999 Constitution Review that will involve 12 state capitals and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The Senate Committee on Constitution Review led by the Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, in its statement, said the public hearings would come up simultaneously in two state capitals per each geo-political zone.
Omo-Agege, represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, while receiving members of Legal Defence and Assistance Project led by its National Coordinator, Chino Obiagwu (SAN), called on those who had already submitted memoranda to the committee to speak to the document at the events.
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The Deputy Senate President noted that the public hearings in the North-Central geopolitical zone would take place in Jos and Minna, while that of North-East and North-West would be held in Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna and Sokoto respectively.
Also, the exercise would hold in Owerri and Enugu in the South-East; Port-Harcourt and Asaba in the South-South, as well as Lagos and Akure in the South-West. He assured the group of the determination of the Constitution Review Committee, which has all-female senators and principal officers, except the Senate President, among other senators drawn from the 36 states and the FCT as members, to protect the interest of women and all Nigerians.
