10th NASS: 92 CSOs ask Tinubu, APC to steer clear of presiding officers’ elections

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10th NASS: 92 CSOs ask Tinubu, APC to steer clear of presiding officers’ elections

A coalition of 92 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) has urged the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to keep away from the elections of the presiding officers of the incoming national assembly.

It will be recalled that the party had on Monday unveiled its preferred candidates for the coveted offices.

But at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, the CSOs working under the aegis of “Centre for Credible Leadership & Citizens Awareness”, said it was undemocratic and unconstitutional for anyone to impose his wishes on the members-elect of the National Assembly.

Reading a speech titled “A Wise Counsel for the President-Elect, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu”, the Director-General of the coalition, Dr Nwambu Gabriel who was flanked at the conference by some of his directors asked Tinubu to beware of the antidemocratic forces around him.

He said: “Our Coalition has been observing with keen interest the grouping and regrouping, horse-trading, lobbying and power play associated with the election of the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 10th National Assembly respectively. The major function of the Civil Society is to essentially act as the watchdog of the society. In other words, remaining docile at this critical time of our democratic trajectory would amount to allowing old mistakes of the past which have retarded our democracy to date to keep repeating themselves.

“The idea is to have an independent arm of government called the legislature for the purpose of providing ‘checks and balances in such a manner to avoid the concentration of powers in one body as this would lead to usurping of powers and consequently degenerate into dictatorship, tyranny and operation.

Now, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 As Amended) is superior to every other document including the Senate and House Rules respectively. Section 50 (1a) and (1b) is simple, unambiguous and clear. This states that “there shall be (a) a President and a Deputy President of the Senate, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves; and (b) a Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be elected by the members of that House from

among themselves”.

“As Civil Society Coalition therefore, we appeal to the President-Elect to tow this same line of honour that produced him as the Candidate of the party and consequently the President-Elect, Federal Republic of Nigeria. By this medium also, we wish to urge the President-Elect to be weary of some anti-democratic forces around him who are only trying to cajole him to interfere in a function exclusively provided for the legislators by the Nigerian Constitution.

“We hereby advise the President-Elect, Sen. Ahmed Bola Tinubu to toe the line of honour and provide a level playing ground for the legislature to exercise their function as provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic

of Nigeria.

“As CSOs, we are not interested in who emerges as the speaker or deputy speaker or the senate president or the deputy senate president.

“Our interest is that there is a provision in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and it is a document that is superior to any other document including the house rules or the senate rules.

“We are saying that since it is a constitutional provision, that the political party to which the president-elect belongs, should allow the constitution to be executed to the latter.

“We are saying that interference in the process of electing the speaker, deputy speaker, the senate president or the deputy senate president would amount to usurping the powers that were ab initio meant for the National Assembly.

“An imposition of power will degenerate Nigeria to dictatorial tendencies, it is going to lead to tyrant and oppression and bring to mockery the principles of separation of power.

“It is pertinent that all politicians and political parties and the president-elect, allow the Constitution to be executed so that Nigeria will not be a mockery in the history of nations.”