The Senate at the Tuesday plenary, adopted three resolutions in defence of the autonomy of the legislature, the respect for the rule of law and the principles of separation of powers between the three arms off government. The lawmakers were of the view that these governance values must be upheld if democracy is to thrive in Nigeria, National Daily reports.
The President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, articulated that “today, in order to ensure that the rule of law and the doctrine of separation of powers is upheld in Nigeria, the Senate adopted three prayers on the issue of the Senate’s powers to confirm and/or reject nominees of the Executive.”
According to the President of the Senate, the prayers were as follows:
1. That the Senate should suspend all issues that relate to the confirmation of nominees.
2. That the Acting President must respect the Constitution and the laws enacted by the National Assembly as they relate to the confirmation of nominees and
3. That the Acting President should respect the rejection of nominees by the Senate.
“It is important that we build a society wherein all laws, not just some laws, are obeyed. We must build a nation of laws, not a nation of men. Hence, it is not for us to choose which laws to obey, and which laws not to obey,” Saraki admonished.
Invariably, the Nigerian Senate had at the plenary drawn a seeming battle line with the Presidency over the jurisdiction of the National Assembly in federal appointments.
ALSO SEE: Senate draws battle line with Presidency over Magu
National Daily gathered that many senators had demanded immediate suspension of the screening and confirmation of nominees for appointments by President in protest of a comment attributed to the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, that executive appointments did not require legislative approval based on Section 171 of the Constitution.
The lawmakers in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly rose in protest when Saraki began to read a letter from Osinbajo, at the plenary, requesting the Senate to confirm the nomination of Mr. Lanra Gbajabiamila as Chairman of the National Lottery Commission.
The controversial statement was a fallout of the crisis over the rejection of the nomination for confirmation by the Senate as Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Accordingly, the senators overarching decided to suspend proceedings on screening and confirmation of nominees for appointments by the executive until the legislative powers of the lawmakers or the independence of the legislature is respected by the Presidency.
The senators also threatened to turn against the leadership of the Senate if their protests are ignored and necessary action is not taken against the executive within 48 hours. They also requested that invitation from the EFCC of any legislator be, henceforth, ignored.
Accordingly, the protests culminated into the resolutions taken by the Senators.