Date:April 4, 2019, 5:19 am
Keep off Reps’ leadership tussle – Lawmakers warn APC, PDP, othersBy Mod - 2 minutes ago - [ Update ]
By Levinus Nwabughiogu
ABUJA-Erstwhile members of the House of Representatives have asked political parties and other influential individuals to keep away from the leadership tussles between the lawmakers, saying it was their exclusive right to choose their leaders.
National Assembly
The members, who spoke under the aegis of ‘Faculty Board of Initiative’, a group made up of serving and former members to promote core values of the legislature said that all external interferences in the House leadership election process would be resisted.“Briefing National Assembly correspondent on Wednesday, the Dean of the Initiative, Hon. Eseme Eyibo, former Chairman, House Committee on Media and Publicity in the 6th assembly said that the concept of the separation of powers and independence of the legislature must be upheld.
He said that elections marked the end for party politics, stressing that governance has set in.
Going down memory lane, Eyibo applauded the process that produced former Speakers Ghali N’abba, Dimeji Bankole, Aminu Tambuwal and Yakubu Dogara, saying it typified the independence of the legislature.
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He insisted that members of the House of Representatives of the 9th National Assembly must be given the free land to elect their leaders, adding that Nigerians want a House leadership that must reflect the wishes of the people.
He said: “There has to be a leadership recruitment process premised on certain qualities and these qualities must be the issues of the core values of the institution, acceptability and ability to galvanize the overall interest of the membership of the House of Representatives as represented by powers vested in it in according accordance with section 4(1) of the Constitution.
“We request the media to kindly let all the parties know that what we are saying from this end is that whoever desires to be or whoever is sponsored or whoever in the circumstance may become the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the leader or any of the leadership positions should be be able to the following.
“Democracy is the issue of the rule of law and because it is so, whoever is expected to be the first among equals in the preservation and protection of the rule of law via the legislature must be somebody who is acceptable, who has a standard of behaviour, that will be able to carve a nexus between the governed and government, that will also become a bridge where there will be less conflict within and without.
“Our responsibility and that of the constitution is to make sure that the legislature is not given a cloned leadership, something which bares the semblance of its true legislative identity is what we seek.
“But to ensure that leaders are chosen by members from among themselves by themselves without any encumbrances of external interference. This essentially guarantees the principle of separation of powers which created the tripod upon which the three Arms of government rests.
“The history of the leadership of the House is clear and unambiguous. So, whoever is coming into it newly must be able to know that regardless that time has changed yesterday, today still remains the flourishing future if this country and this country will ever be great if and only we allow this path of the independence of the legislature, the stability of the legislature and of course , separation of powers should be allowed to stay.
Source:
www.vanguardngr.com/2019/04/keep-off-reps-leadership-tussle-lawmakers-warn-apc-pdp-others/
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