Abuja — The silence of elders of the Peoples Democratic Party when members of the House of Representatives openly flouted section 53 (2) of the constitution and walked out on the Senate deputy president in Minna has been identified as the reason for the war between the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Senate President David Mark stated this in a letter dated November 20, which was a reply to an earlier letter written by party chieftain Chief Tony Anenih.

Chief Anenih in his letter, on Friday, to the Senate president and the speaker of the House of Representatives said it saddens him to hear that a minor disagreement between the Senate and the House of Representatives over an appropriate venue is threatening to disrupt the presentation of the 2010 budget by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.

But Senator Mark noted that the lingering supremacy tussle between both chambers was a result of the silence of the party elders when 44 members of the House of Representatives, in the Joint Constitutional Review Committee at the Minna retreat, back in January, walked out on the deputy Senate president. He said the move was in open disregard of section 52 (2) of the constitution.

"I am disturbed by the silence of the party elder when members of the House of Representatives openly flouted section 53 (2) of the constitution which we have all sworn to uphold.

"Your Excellency may recall that members of the House of Representatives openly flouted section 52 (2) at the joint constitutional committee review session held in Minna when they walked out on the deputy Senate president. One would have expected the intervention of party elders to put a stop to the flagrant disregard and abuse of the supremacy of the constitution."

He also said that the matter should not be reduced to or simplified as a dispute between the Senate and the House of Representatives on the venue of a joint sitting of the National Assembly, but that the issue borders more on section 53 (2) of the Nigerian constitution.

He said: "For the avoidance of doubt, what is at stake is section 53 (2) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which states: "At any joint sitting of the Senate and the House of Representatives-

(a) The president of the Senate shall preside and in his absence the speaker of the House of Representatives shall preside; and

(b) In the absence of the persons mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the deputy president of the Senate shall preside and in his absence, the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives shall preside.

The Senate president added that he has no peculiar interest in the matter but feels strongly that a stand has to be taken to protect the institution of the legislature for posterity as the interest of the legislature is an integral part of the national interest.

Senator Mark said it was his wish and that of the Senate that the budget presentation was done as scheduled even as he recalled that, last year, the Senate promised to pass the budget before the December recess. "We honoured that pledge. Despite this patriotic commitment, party elders failed to commend the Senate for abiding by its pledge," he said.

He praised Chief Anenih for the time he took to express his views to him (Mark) and furthered reiterated thus: "For us to make meaningful progress as a nation, and to establish a firm foundation for our democracy, we must uphold every letter of our constitution. This is even more imperative since the present administration is predicated on the rule of law and guided by the sanctity of the constitution."

Meanwhile, the Civil Society legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has charged the National Assembly to put aside their personal issues and concentrate on their obligations to the electorate.

According to a press release by the advocacy group signed by its executive director, Auwal Musa, there are really more serious issues like electoral reforms and recovery of the national economy to mitigate the impact of the global economic meltdown, just like some other countries are doing.

"To set the record straight, the name upper and lower chambers, as far Nigeria is concerned, is a borrowed nomenclature without much relevance. The constitution is clear that it takes the passage of both houses of the National Assembly for a law to be passed. The two chambers are legislatively equal. The Senate, by the constitution, is empowered to screen some category of political appointees like ambassadors and ministers. When it comes to appropriation, it goes without saying that the representatives are seen to be proper representatives of the people as the federal constituencies which produce them are more detailed in representation rather than senatorial zones," the statement read.

They said, in the last 10 years, the precedent has been set that all budget proposals have been presented in the House chambers.

"Understandably, it is because of the spacious facility that the reps have and the fact that the National Assembly has no facility for the joint session."