The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has berated the Senate President,
Ahmed Lawan for saying the Senate would honour any request from
President Muhammadu Buhari.
The party described the comment by Lawan as unconditional and unconstitutional.
PDP said the National Assembly would be relinquishing its statutory
powers of checks and balances by honouring request from Buhari without
subjecting it to statutory scrutiny.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP advised the
lawmakers to insist on oversight functions.
The opposition party advised lawmakers not to surrender their
Independence to the Executive.
The statement reads: “The leadership of the Senate should resist any
forms of intimidation from the Buhari Presidency to surrender its
independence and pass bills and requests without statutory legislative
scrutiny and oversights.
“Our position is predicated on the blanket comment credited to the
Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawan, that any request from President
Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly is good for the nation, even
without subjecting such requests to statutory legislative scrutiny.
“The PDP describes such stance as unconstitutional and unacceptable as
it amounts to relinquishing statutory powers of checks and balances of
the National Assembly.
“This, our party notes will create an alarming impression that the
present National Assembly has been annexed by the executive and
reduced to a rubber-stamp legislature.
“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, are governed by the
constitution, laid down legislative rules, practices and conventions
and not by the narrow-minded assumptions of any single individual.”
