Bayelsa West Senator Seriake Dickson has explained that he walked out of the Senate chamber before the Senate approved the state of emergency on Rivers because he believed the action was unconstitutional.
Mr Dickson, a former Bayelsa governor and member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), noted that he, along with Senators Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto South), Eyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South), and a few others, resisted the proclamation but were not allowed the opportunity to openly debate the issue during plenary.
He said these in a statement he posted on his verified Facebook account on Thursday.
The Senate approved the emergency rule after a closed-door session which lasted for about one hour and twenty minutes.
However, Mr Dickson, visibly upset, left the chamber at about 1:40 p.m., just after the senators emerged from the session.
Earlier, there was a minor disagreement between Mr Dickson and the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, before the senators moved into the closed-door session. The disagreement was over a point of order which requires the Nigerian president to brief the Senate in a closed-door session on the circumstances necessitating a state of emergency.
