Executive, Judiciary Usurping Our Powers – Tambuwal
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has accused the executive and judicial arms of government of usurping the powers of the legislature, reports Leadership.
According to the paper, Mr Speaker made the accusation yesterday in plenary while delivering an address entitled “Nigeria’s Fierce Urgency of Now” to mark the end of the 3rd session of the 7th Assembly maintained that the trend negates the principle of separation of powers.
Tambuwal said, “It is a disturbing trend whereby people now go to court to stop the National Assembly from exercising its constitutional mandate and conducting its internal operations. Such acts are unheard of in jurisdictions where genuine democracy is practised and venerated.
“The usual democratic practice is that the powers of the courts are activated to challenge laws enacted by the legislature. This is the proper manner in which the judiciary is enabled to perform its constitutional function as the interpreter of both the constitution and duly enacted laws. It is neither usual nor appropriate for the judiciary to be used pre-emptively to stop the legislature from acting in the first place. This is an encroachment on the powers of the legislature and a slap in the face of the principle of separation of powers.
“I urge all members of this honourable House to recommit themselves to the defence of the integrity of the legislative process and resist the temptation to be part of this dangerous trend that will only succeed in bringing the legislature to ridicule”, he stated.
The speaker was apparently referring to President Goodluck Jonathan’s opposition to the probe of petroleum and mineral resources minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke over alleged expenditure of about N10billion on the charter and maintenance of private jets. The petroleum minister has gone to court to stop the lawmakers from investigating the allegations.
The speaker who expressed concern over the high level of corruption in the country also maintained that the House will not shirk its responsibilities of exercising oversight over the executive arm as enshrined in the constitution.
“Strangely, the collective experience of our members in the course of the exercise of their oversight functions is that there is a growing culture of impunity on the part of public officers in Nigeria which makes them inclined to resist the ethos of accountability. Some hesitate to honour their invitation to appear before the House, while others resort to litigation in an attempt to frustrate legislative oversight of their activities.”