This was as the caucus wanted the House to implement the judgment of the Federal High Court which asked the 37 former members of PDP that defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to vacate their seats.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that members of the PDP caucus had, after series of meetings, reportedly resolved to enforce the judgment against the 37 affected lawmakers.
It was, however, learnt that the Speaker got wind of the plot and decided to call for executive session to deliberate on how to manage the situation from getting out of hand.
The executive session lasted about two hours.
At the session, Nigerian Tribune learnt that members of PDP and APC engaged each other in a war of words, with PDP lawmakers reportedly lambasting the minority whip, Honourable Samson Osagie, over the press conference he addressed on Tuesday on the judgment, where he, among other things, accused the PDP of procuring it.
The closed door session, which sources claimed was stormy, also witnessed members of PDP questioning both the Speaker and his deputy, Honourable Emeka Ihedioha, for appealing the suit.
It was also learnt that a peace deal was entered into during the session, to ensure the peace of the House was not threatened.
Members of the PDP caucus, it was learnt, had, before the session, re-introduced the issue of point of order raised by Honourable Kingsley Chinda, who cited Order 9 Rule 57 of the House Rules when the 37 lawmakers moved from PDP to APC.
But the Speaker had pleaded with the House to allow him seek legal opinion on the point of order and report back.
Nigerian Tribune, however, gathered that the plan of the PDP caucus before the session was to bring up the matter and address it once and for all.
Briefing newsmen on the outcome of the session, the deputy chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Honourable Victor Ogene, said “we decided to talk among ourselves and if you recall, it has been a while that we went behind closed doors to talk frankly.
“It is nothing unusual, it is just to get each other’s viewpoints and straighten things out. Decision arising from our interactions is to allow the different cases in courts regarding defection of some members to run their full courses.
“In arriving at that decision, the House took cognisance of the fact that precedence had been set before Friday and Monday rulings. If you recall, a certain member has defected from Labour Party in Ondo State to the then ACN. That matter is still in court. That member is still participating in the affairs of the House. There are some other instances that fall under that category.
“We also decided to insulate the House from the growing tendency of partisanship that is beginning to arise at the floor during plenary.
“Upon our inauguration on June 6, 2011, we all consciously decided to keep party affiliation at bay and work to make good laws for peace, order and good governance in Nigeria.
“We thought it was important to restate that this is our core mandate as members of the Seventh House of Representatives. That point was well taken by all the members present at that executive session,” he stated.
He equally added that the Speaker and his deputy did not appeal the judgment of the court against the 37 lawmakers on their individual capacity, but as a nominal party.
Meanwhile, the deputy speaker has issued an official statement denying that he appealed the judgment of the court concerning the affected lawmakers.
A statement issued by his chief press secretary, Okey Epia, said “for the avoidance of doubt, the deputy speaker wishes to clarify that he is just a nominal party in the suit, by virtue of his office and the counsel was briefed by the management of the National Assembly to represent the House of Representatives as an institution.
“The deputy speaker remains a firm and committed member of PDP and associates himself fully with its ideals, principles, purposes and progress.”
Source: Tribune
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