The last is yet to be heard on the President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to withhold assent to the Electoral Act Amendment bill, 2021 as some aggrieved members of the 9th Assembly accused Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami of misleading the President.
Chairman, Adhoc Committee investigating Federal Government’s abandoned properties across the country, Hon. Ademorin Kuye warned the AGF to desist from any action capable of destroying the existing cordial Executive-Legislative relationship.
Hon. Kuye who frowned at Malami’s forceful and bitter verbal attack on the Parliamentarians, dismissed insinuation that the National Assembly was insensitive, discriminatory and supports insecurity, as alleged.
“The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Malam Abubakar Malami has said that the National Assembly’s interest in passing laws is solely political in the wake of recent passage of the Electoral Bill, as he seeks to justify his current advice to President Muhammed Buhari to withhold his assent to the bill.
“In his diatribe, he posited that the lawmakers are only concerned about their political inclination and that their legislative activities, especially with the Electoral bill that was passed is insensitive, discriminatory and supports insecurity.”
While acknowledging that the Minister is entitled to his opinion, Hon. Kuye stressed the need for the National Assembly to resist any attempt to destroy its credibility and the existing relationship between the Legislative and Executive arms of government.
“We must resist the attempt to pitch the Executive against Legislature while denigrating the synergy that has existed between both arms of government. If the impact of lawmaking is only political, as Mr Malami have posited, the landmark Petroleum Industry Bill that have eluded many administration since 2003, would still be in the dustbin of executive-legislative bickering.
“This singular achievement of the 9th Assembly under the joint leadership of the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila and the Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, has opened up petroleum industry and made the country’s oil and gas sector competitive globally, as the accruing benefits have continue to unravel.
“Other extractive industry initiatives have been backed up with legislation that have pushed to institutionalize transparency, accountability and local ingenuity.
“While at it, the laws governing corporate and allied matters got extensive overhauling by this Assembly and it has since revolutionized businesses in the country and impacted the ease of doing business. These laws are apolitical and have affected all Nigerians.
“Apparently, the Minister has also forgotten that it was earlier in the year that a new reformed policing architecture was made possible through the Police Reform Act 2021, that captured the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians for a better, friendlier and more robust policing after the debacle of #EndSARS protest in November 2020 and its attendant social-political upheavals.
“If the Malam Malami has forgotten the broad impact of these few legislations and he is tagging the National Assembly legislative functions as political he needs to be reminded.
“Perhaps he has forgotten his rudimentary social studies or how would an Attorney General of the Federation surmarise that an Electoral bill that allows for all members of a party to have a say in selecting who becomes their party flag bearer be described as supporting insecurity and discriminatory for President Muhammadu Buhari to sign into law.
“What are the cost implications to parties like APC who recently had a nationwide membership registration exercise? Or how does APC, for example reconcile the Minister’s cry of expensive direct primaries with this recent membership drive?
“How can direct primaries be expensive when the party already has databases and mechanisms in place where its members can vote online and from the comfort of their homes. Or is the APC admitting through the Minister that its recent registration of members is just a waste of resources and an avenue to just buy time for the caretaker committee to remain in office?
“Also, is the Attorney General of the Federation saying democracy is not participatory anymore as he seeks to scuttle the will of various party faithfuls and exclude them from having a say?
“With these developments, direct primaries should encourage all political parties to have a digital online registration of members and make provisions for online voting for registered members.
“It is obvious that the minister is pandering to the political elites especially the money bags who have concluded that more money will be needed to get things to go their way with direct primaries.
“Also, it is not impossible that he is thinking of his own vaunted gubernatorial ambition in his state. Let him test his popularity with the party loyalist in his state first and not seek to come in through the back door by denying Nigerians the next step in the evolution of their democracy,” he challenged Malami.
Recall that the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila after receiving the President’s letter on his decision to withhold assent to the Electoral Act Amendment bill, 2021, disclosed that the Parliament would not throw away the bill just because President Buhari declined assent because of the direct primary clause.
According to him, “when we return in the new year, we will resume our efforts to reform the electoral system in our country. And we will do it together. That is what the Nigerian people expect of us, and we will do our duty for God and our country.
“Whichever way it pans out, we must not throw out the baby with the bath water and must deliver a credible and enduring electoral system to Nigerians. Every law is a living document and as long as it has breath, it must survive,” Hon. Gbajabiamila said during his valedictory speech.
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