WHEN on Wednesday, January 17, Senator Timothy Adudu (ANPP Plateau North) raised a point of order to move a motion of urgent matter of national importance regarding the ongoing voter registration by INEC, not many of his colleagues were least surprised. To put it another way, the thumbs down for INEC had been expected given that the electoral body more than any other agency of government had taken up much of the time of the federal lawmakers in the last quarter of last year before the National Assembly went on a four week recess to cover Christmas, New Year and Sallah but most importantly, the political party primaries.

However, what was unknown to most of the senators was the real motive of the motion by senator Adudu being an opposition legislator whose action would ordinarily be appreciated and supported by most of the opposition parties including the latest internal opposition within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The open motive of Senator Adudu’s motion was simple, as he merely wanted the senate to pass a vote of no confidence on the nation’s electoral boss with the sole objective of asking him to resign his lucrative and sensitive position.

The hidden motive however was more than meets the eye thus open to different interpretation based on political understanding.

Initially, the motion by Adudu sounded good and attractive following the support and secondment it received from senators who are desirous for a free, fair, credible and acceptable elections whose foundation is a successful registration of voters.

The senators from Ben Obi, Professor Daniel Saror, Muktar Aruwa, Farouk Bello, Lawan Shuaibu and the Senate Majority Leader Dalhatu Sarki Tafida each took their turn to speak on INEC’s lack of preparation and demonstrated ability to conduct the 2007 general elections following what they chorused were inadequacies of the voter registration exercise.

While this was going on, Chairman of the 2007 movement (which has become the most potent opposition non-registered political party of legislators to President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration) Senator Uche Chukwumerije quickly rose from his seat upon recognition by the senate president to draw the attention of his colleagues to what he considered a very dangerous move akin to political suicide.

According to Senator Chukwumerije, "the senate must as a matter of serious concern, watch its back against the body language of the PDP-led government that is desirous in perpetuating itself in office."

That was all that was needed by the genuine opposition party, senators in the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly for a rethink of their earlier position aimed at kicking Professor Iwu out of office.

It therefore did take a minute for the members of the 2007 movement to begin consideration of the hidden motive of Senator Adudu’s motion in line with what senator Uche Chukwumerije described as "body language of the presidency."

Accordingly, members of the 2007 Movement x-rayed the antecedents of Senator Adudu in the senate with an over-all conclusion that he cannot be trusted in his moves no matter how good and genuine they may look.

The deferment of the motion to allow for the presentation of the report of the Senate Joint Committees on INEC and Judiciary further gave the 2007 Movement ample time for a clinical examination of Senator Adudu’s activities.

It was recalled by the members of the 2007 Movement that during the Port Harcourt retreat for members of the National Assembly Joint Committees on the review of the 1999 Constitution, it was Senator Timothy Adudu that moved the motion for the adoption of the 3rd term clause for the committee’s report.

The 2007 Movement see in Senator Adudu as a likely pun of Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu who was believed to have been the arrow-head and coordinator of the third term project which had to be killed by the senate before its second reading.

The Senator Chukwumerije-led movement also took copious note of the fact that Senator Adudu being a faithful ally of Senator Mantu who compensated him (Adudu) with a juicy committee chairmanship position (land transport), may be playing out the script of the deputy senate president who is being careful not to be identified with the behind the scene but carefully scripted project for an extension of tenure via the destabilization of INEC in conducting the 2007 general elections.

Even after the presentation of the Senate Joint Committee on INEC and Judiciary which gave Professor Iwu a clean bill of record, Senator Adudu who as a member of the Senate Committee on Judiciary took active part in the meeting with INEC chairman and the drafting of the report, still tried hard on the floor of the senate to rubbish the report, all in a bid to get his agenda to scale through.

It took the chairman of the senate committee on Judiciary Senator Oserheimen Osunbor to unveil Senator Adudu as having an ulterior motive.

Senator Osunbor revealed that he was disturbed that Senator Adudu who did not oppose any aspect of the report at the committee level was the same person working hard to disparage the report.

It was at that stage that the Plateau North Senator had no other option than to keep quiet and allow for the acceptance of the Joint Committee of the Senate report.