Last Wednesday's declaration of peace in all fronts by the Senate with the withdrawal of amendments to the laws establishing the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT and pending punishments against opponents of Senate President Bukola Saraki are seen as moves by Saraki to make peace with his enemies. But how did the Senate get to this messy state?

There is no doubt that the interests of senators of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP on who controls the Senate leadership puts the Red Chamber in its present predicament.

The Senate has been a shadow of itself since its inauguration on June 8, 2015, at the commencement of the 8th Assembly, following intrigues arising from leadership tussle. Prior to inauguration of the 8th Assembly, senators-elect mainly from the APC, had begun holding secret meetings in their bid to choose who would succeed Senator David Mark as new Senate President.

Major political blocs

This was after three returning senators, namely, Senators Ahmad Lawan, APC, Yobe North, George Akume, APC, Benue North West and Bukola Saraki, Kwara Central, had indicated interest to vie for the office. Their aspiration was on the basis that since the APC had assumed new status as party with majority members in Senate, that Senator Mark of the PDP would naturally not seek a re-election as Senate President.

Emergence of power blocs: Two major political blocs emerged in the APC, the former opposition party which not only won the majority in the National Assembly but also had produced the new president, Muhammadu Buhari. The two groups, the Unity Forum and the Like Minds emerged with support for two of the candidates.

While the former with Senator Kabir Marafa, APC, Zamfara Central as arrowhead declared its support for Senator Lawan, the latter which had Senator Dino Melaye, APC, Kogi West as spokesman queued behind Saraki Senator Akume, later withdrew from the race and declared support for Lawan following intervention from their party, the APC leadership, as he now positioned himself for the office of Deputy Senate President.

Worried at the dimension the contest was assuming ahead of Senate inauguration, given that Senator Saraki had refused to step down for Lawan, who had the endorsement of the party leadership, the APC conducted a mock election for the two candidates, where Lawan was said to have won. But some senators-elect under the aegis of "The like minds," led by Melaye, rejected the result even as they stayed away from the venue. The group adopted Saraki and vowed to see to his election as Senate President.

On the eve of the election, the PDP senators-elect numbering about 44 met with the party leadership in the residence of Senator David Mark where they adopted Saraki as their candidate for the election. The meeting ended at about 2.00 a.m. and following which the message was widely publicised by the party's publicity scribe, Chief Olisa Metuh. Hours later just before dawn of the inauguration day, a text message was circulated to all senators-elect and members-elect in the APC inviting them to a meeting with President Buhari who returned that morning from a foreign trip at the International Conference Center.

Consultations

Meanwhile, Saraki following a round of consultations with supporters and his new allies in the APC boycotted the meeting which he suspected did not emanate from the president.

He had stolen himself into the National Assembly premises well ahead of others and laid low in the car park while the majority of APC senators-elect and members-elect went for the meeting with Buhari that was not to be. Meanwhile, at 10.00 prompt the Clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa in line with the presidential proclamation inaugurated the Senate while majority of the APC senators numbering about 51 were at the ICC waiting for Buhari.

They were still waiting for Buhari when nominations were made for Senate President and Saraki was nominated and returned unopposed by the 57 senators present in the chamber. As the news hit the senators-elect at the ICC they made a bolt back to the National Assembly but by the time they came back Senator Ike Ekweremadu of the PDP was already elected as Deputy Senate President, a development that has angered the president and the leadership of the APC.

Having emerged against its wish, the APC leadership, in an open letter, again asked Saraki to allow Lawan be Majority Leader of the Senate. This, Saraki upon pressure from his supporters and the Northeast Caucus of the party declined. The APC caucus rather projected Senator Ali Ndume, APC, Borno South. Besides, Saraki infuriated the president and the leadership of his party the more in the composition of the Senate standing committees. He was alleged by APC senators to have favoured PDP senators in the allocation of juicy committees to the detriment of their APC counterparts.

Shortly after that, Ekweremadu was accused of using his position as Deputy Senate President in the 7th Assembly to forge the Senate Rule, which allowed them have easy election in the leadership of the legislature. To this end, Senators Marafa, Abu Ibrahim, APC, Katsina North and Suleiman Hunkuyi, APC, Kaduna North, dragged the leadership of the Senate to court, where they sought to declare the election of Saraki and Ekweremadu to be nullified.

Inconclusive investigations: However, police investigations into the matter remained inconclusive as the police seemingly declared the issue to be political and called for a political solution. As the court and the police are yet to round off the matter, the Senator Saraki was dragged before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT by the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, over his alleged failure to declare some of his assets while he held sway as the governor of his native Kwara State.

It is probable that if he had envisaged the storm awaiting him for violating the party if he would have gone ahead with his ambition. His high profile office has be desecrated by higher authority. He has been humiliated in public places and made to sit in the dock as a common accused.

In fact, he would have been openly arrested and handcuff like a common criminal if he had not saved himself by showing up when a bench warrant was issued against him by the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar. By the day, his situation gets messier, keeping watchers of political events in the country wondering what could be his fate at last. But in an apparent bid to stem the flow of bad blood in the Senate and perhaps in the APC, the Senate, on Wednesday, came up with some fence-mending measures.

Closed door session

At a closed door session presided over by the Senator Ekweremadu, the Senate put a committee, comprising of two senators from each of the geo-political zones of the country to reconcile members just as it suspended a punishment intended to be meted against Senator Marafa, over alleged unethical acts against it. This was just as it urged all aggrieved members with cases against it in court to immediately withdraw them. The Senate also in adherence to public opinion also stood down proposed amendments to the laws establishing the CCT and CCB to the extent of removing them from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF.

The events in the Senate came as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC also affirmed a stamp of approval on the conduct of Justice Umar. Umar had been accused of impropriety in receiving the sum of N10 million as bribe through his aide. Saraki's supporters had alleged that the fear of the EFCC was the principal instrument being used to coerce Justice Umar to punish Saraki.