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• Minority leader, others stage walk out
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Controversy trailed the passage of the State Police Bill by the House of Representatives with voice votes, yesterday, leading to a walk-out by some opposition lawmakers.
The protesting lawmakers accused the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, of violating the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as the House Standing Rule by resorting to voice vote to pass the State Police Bill.
Indications that the House was headed for a charged session emerged shortly after the Speaker took his seat as chairman of the Committee of the Whole for a clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill, with Benedict Etanabene, from Delta State, raising a constitutional point of order.
However, Abbas, who overruled Etanabene when he couldn’t cite any specific provision he was relying on, announced that 276 members had signed the attendance register for plenary, while 35 would join the proceeding online.
Thereafter, he invited the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who is also the chairman of the House Committee on Constitution Review, to give a synopsis of the bill amid shouts of ‘point of order.’
After the synopsis, the minority leader, Fredrick Agbedi, the spokesman of the opposition lawmakers, Afam Ogene and some other members kept raising ‘points of order,’ while the Speaker continued with the proceeding.
As Abbas called clause one of the bill for consideration, the House became rowdy with some members shouting ‘point
When the situation became tense, Abbas called for a voice vote, requesting members in support of the proposed legislation to say ‘aye,’ and those against to say ‘nay.’
Thereafter, he ruled in favour of ‘ayes’ and announced that the constitutional requirement for the amendment had already been met.
According to him, “a total of 276 members signed the attendance register in support of the police bill while 35 more voted online. This brings the number of lawmakers in support of the state police bill to 311. What is required to pass a bill is two-third of our members which is 240.”
Agbedi, who led the minority lawmakers on a walkout, told journalists that the opposition was not opposed to the establishment of state police, but was not in support of the procedure adopted by the Speaker for consideration of the Bill.
He said: “Let it be stated that the minority caucus is not against state police. We are in support of anything that will bring about peace and security in Nigeria. All we are saying is that there should be a clause-by clause consideration of the bill which the Speaker rejected.”
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He explained that House Rules stipulates that in the clause by clause of bills at the Committee of the Whole, a clause is deemed passed only if it is supported by a vote of two-third majority of members of the House.
According to him, “Any action taken by the parliament must follow due process. We are talking about an institution, the institution of the national assembly and the House of Representatives.
“It has its own rules and laws and when the rules and regulations are not complied with, it affects the credibility of the institution as well as the credibility of Nigeria and our democracy.
“By this kind of actions, we are de-marketing our parliament as well as our nation to the world because we are seen as a people who do not follow rules and regulations. This is not about the majority, this is not about the minority; it is about protecting the laws of this nation.
“We decided to walk out to the extent that as a minority leader, I raised a point of order and without the chairman in the Committee of Whole hearing my Point of Order, he ruled me out of order, so which order was he ruling me out of?
“He needed to hear my Point of Order and then rule me based on whether my Point of Order complied with our rules, the constitution or not; but he just ruled me out of order.
“If as a minority leader and as officers of the minority and as members of the minority, we are not allowed to express ourselves based on the rules of the House, then something is wrong.”
Similarly, Ogene added that Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution ( as amended) “provides that two-third of members participate in that process. We saw Mr Speaker acting as chairman in the Committee of the Whole read out some names that we did not know where they came from.
“At the first point, when they called for a constitutional point of order, there was no need to throw it overboard. The Constitution is the grand norm, the rule book upon which our standing order derives its strength and power.
“So, for Mr Speaker acting as chairman in the Committee of the Whole to disregard the clear position of Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is a great affront on the workings of the House of Representatives.”
Earlier, Kalu, while giving a synopsis of the bill, explained that the proposed legislation is more about bringing policing closer to the people and strengthening intelligence gathering and improving coordination, than creating another policing institution.
“It, therefore, represents a carefully considered constitutional framework for the establishment of state police. Honourable colleagues, I fully appreciate that this bill may not satisfy every expectation, I accommodate every proposal advanced by members and stakeholders. However, constitutional reform is inherently incremental.
“This bill represents a significant and practical first step towards the establishment of state police. It lays the constitutional foundation upon which a modern, professional, accountable and effective state police system can be built. Mr. Speaker, it is equally important to recognise that this constitutional amendment provides only the enabling framework,” the Deputy Speaker stated.
Furthermore, he noted that “many of the legitimate concerns expressed by members and stakeholders can still be comprehensively addressed during the implementation phase, and I’m happy that Mr. President has set the ball rolling by setting up a committee that will look into this implementation bid. We must, therefore, not allow the pursuit of perfection to become the enemy of meaningful progress, Mr. Speaker.”
