In democracy, separation of power, wherein all three arms of government are distinct and independent, is supposed to be the cardinal principle. This presupposes that the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, as arms of government, function independently.
As elementary Government teaches, the three arms of government have and execute their distinct functions, as prescribed by the constitution, for the smooth running of government and the nation. While the executive is constitutionally empowered to formulate policies, enforce the law and maintain law and order, the legislature makes laws. The judiciary, on its part, interprets and applies the law.
However, there is also the principle of checks and balances, which gives impetus to the fact that even though the three arms of government are independent, they check or limit the excesses and, in fact, stop the abuse of power, of each other. Where there are checks and balances, each arm of government exercises its independence and also ensures that the other arms do not abuse their powers. Normally, there is a struggle between the arms of government to exercise their authority above each other, which leads to clashes sometimes. However, it is a breach when any arm of government allows itself to be subordinated by the other, as this defeats the essence of separation of power and checks and balances.
In Nigeria’s 21 years of democracy, the struggle between the executive arm of government and the legislature has been fierce. The struggle, nonetheless, has seen the executive having the upper hand, with the legislature becoming somewhat a puppet, as it, by omission or commission, acquiesces to the executive. This, indeed, is a cause for worry because, in a democracy where the legislature is weak, the executive, especially, gets away with its malfeasance.
Recently, a drama played out in Imo State, like we have seen in many other states. From June last year, members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dominated the Imo State House of Assembly. There were also some members of the Action Alliance (AA) and no member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Imo State House of Assembly, following the result of the general election of 2019. The governor in place at that time was Hon. Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP.
On January 14, 2020, however, the Supreme Court, in its judgment on the 2019 Imo State governorship election, sacked Ihedioha and declared Sen. Hope Uzodinma of the APC as winner of the governorship election. Consequently, Uzodinma took oath of office on January 15, 2020, to assume leadership of the state. A few days after Uzodinma’s assumption of office, some political engineering ensured that lawmakers elected on the ticket of the PDP dumped their political party to join the now ruling APC. It started with the defection of nine lawmakers from PDP, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and AA to the APC. Thereafter, other lawmakers also jumped ship, as it were, to give APC the majority, with 22 lawmakers. Among those who left the PDP for the APC was the Speaker, Collins Chiji. The PDP became the minority party overnight, with only six members. The APC, therefore, took over control of the House and also holds sway in the executive arm, with Governor Uzodinma at the apex of government. This happened within a space of three weeks.
In Bayelsa, it took only a few days after Governor Douye Diri of the PDP assumed office for the Speaker of the House of Assembly to be changed. The Supreme Court had invalidated the election of Mr. David Lyon of the APC over false information by his running mate and deputy governor-elect, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo. The apex court had ordered that the candidate with the second highest votes in the election be given the certificate of return and sworn in as governor. This happened on February 13, 2020, the eve of the expiration of the government of Hon. Seriake Dickson, who served eight years as governor. On February 14, therefore, Diri took over the reins of power. The Bayelsa Speaker, Hon. Monday Obolo Boluo, stepped down for his deputy, Hon. Abraham Inogbere, to take over. According to the House of Assembly, since the governor and the former Speaker were from the same senatorial district, it was expedient for the latter to relinquish his office to a lawmaker from another senatorial district.
No doubt, the act of balancing of political power among the zones of Bayelsa is good, but the question is: Why is it that the legislature has to pay the price? The only answer one could give is this: The legislature has, directly and indirectly, made itself the weakest of the three arms of government. Across the country, the legislature has become pliable and, therefore, at the receiving end. Where the legislature is expected to rise to the true meaning of its office and power, it has succumbed to the machinations of the executive arm of government. In so doing, the legislature takes the blame, while the executive reap the gains.
The Nigerian legislature should really be worried about the bad news dogging it. Last week, the legislature in Kogi State was on the spot, owing to earlier failure of the lawmakers to fulfil a legal and moral obligation when it mattered most. The Kogi State High Court IV, presided over by Justice John Olorunfemi, has declared the impeachment of former deputy governor of the state, Simon Achuba, as null and void. The judge declared that the process leading to the impeachment of Achuba was a violation of the Constitution. Specifically, Justice Olorunfemi described the process of impeachment as “a constitutional coup, hatched and executed in a democracy,” contrary to Section 188(8) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). He wondered why legislators whose duty it was to make laws turned out to be “law breakers.”
The Kogi impeachment was a mess the state legislature walked into with its eyes wide open. The Assembly, in trying to impeach the former deputy governor, had set up a panel to investigate some allegations, as required by law. The panel did its job but could not establish any act of wrongdoing by the accused and stated so. Instead of the Assembly calling off the impeachment, in line with the provisions of the Constitution, it went ahead to remove Achuba from office by just moving a motion not anchored on anything. The Kogi legislature helped the state governor, Yahaya Bello, to have his way in the plot to remove the former deputy governor, but it is, today, carrying the shame, with the nullification of its action by the court.
In Imo State, the court had also nullified the impeachment of a deputy governor because the legislature, in its hurry to please the then governor, Rochas Okorocha, did not follow due process. The court had to reinstate Prince Eze Madumere, to the shame of the legislature that impeached him without due process.
When I look at what the legislature has become in Nigeria, I wonder if the lawmakers really know their duties or the power they possess. In a democracy, a responsible legislature ought to be the cornerstone of government. It is the legislature that approves the budget prepared and presented by the executive. It is the legislature that does oversight functions in agencies that report to officials of the executive. It is the legislature that holds the executive accountable and, where it is not satisfied with the conduct of the heads of the executive (President, Vice President, governor or deputy governor), could remove them from office through impeachment. Owing to its failures, the legislature in Nigeria has become a willing tool in the hands of the executive.
In places where the legislature knows its onions, the PDP lawmakers in Imo would not defect to the APC because the political party through which they were elected to office lost power. They would remain in their political parties and continue to do their job. In places where the legislature is alive to its responsibility, lawmakers would not do the bidding of the President or governors, but rather put them on their toes. In places where the legislature knows what it is supposed to do, the Assembly would not make itself the “weaker sex” in a union of executive, legislature and judiciary. Ideally, the job of the legislature should be anchored on the principle of constitutionality and what is right. Lawmakers should be the central point of democracy. Therefore, they should rise and take back their pride of place in democracy. They should begin to do things that would earn them respect, rather than opprobrium.