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Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, admonished the National Assembly to resist any form of intimidation from the Presidency to surrender its independence and pass bills and requests without legislative scrutiny.
The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the counsel is predicated on a comment credited to the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, that any request from President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly was good for the nation, even without subjecting such requests to statutory legislative scrutiny.
The opposition party described Lawan’s comment as unacceptable, as it amounted to relinquishing constitutionally guaranteed powers of checks and balances of the National Assembly.
“The statement by the Senate President has heavily detracted from the expected independence of the legislature. It is fast eroding the confidence Nigerians have on the Senate and the National Assembly, as true representatives of the people at the national level.
“The party notes that even if the Senate leadership believes in the import of any request or bill from the President, the 1999 Constitution (as amended) requires the legislature to pass such through its statutory checks and balances processes to ensure that the content and intent are in tandem with overall national interest.
“Such legislative checks are enshrined in the constitution to curtail the excesses of the executive as well as create room for democratic tenet of citizens’ participation through their elected representatives.
“Anything to the contrary is a direct suspension of our constitution, enthronement of dictatorship and a sidestepping of the legislative powers, which is capable of destroying the institution of the National Assembly.
“Moreover, legislative processes for statutory interfaces with other arms of government, particularly the executive, is governed by the constitution, laid down legislative rules, practices and conventions and not by the narrow-minded assumptions of any single individual.
,”The PDP reminds the Senate President that the National Assembly is the very symbol of our nation’s democracy. It is an institution that belongs to the people and not to any political party or group. Ceding its independence therefore amounts to surrendering the sovereignty of the people,” the opposition party stated.
