Senate abusing power and privilege ―Akinlaja

A foremost legal practitioner and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Dayo Akinlaja, on Tuesday, berated the Upper Chamber for abusing its powers and privileges of summoning individuals and government officials to appear before it to answer questions relating to their offices.

Akinlaja who stated this yesterday in Akure, Ondo state capital, during the commissioning of an ultra-modern law chamber built by the immediate past Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Ondo State, Mr Aderemi Olatubora, noted that the Senate has been using its powers to summon individuals to answer allegations against them over flimsy reasons.

The former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Ekiti State however called on those summoned by the lawmakers to appear before it rather than running to law court to stall the summons.

Speaking on the invitation of the Senate extended to Chairman Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption, Prof Itse Sagay, Akinlaja said it is not within the purview of the lawmakers to invite private individuals to appear before it but advised the law Professor to honour the invitation as a mark of respect to an arm of government.

He said “The National Assembly does not have the right to invite private individual like Prof Sagay. They don’t have that right under the constitution. Because he criticized them does not give them the latitude, the power or the right to invite him.

“I want to reiterate the fact that, there is no power for them to go beyond the ambit of section 88 and 89 of the constitution. It is not something they should be exercising as a way of showing personal aggrandizement.”

Akinlaja said the National Assembly has been giving the power and privileges to invite people for purposes of interfacing with them for one reason or the other as envisage under the constitution saying under such situation, it is compulsory, mandatory and imperative for such person to obey.

But said “If the person chooses not to go, the legislature is not left helpless. It is not without issue of remedy because by virtue of constitution, they have their own power to compel by issuance of summons and warrant of arrest as the case may be. The point here must be understood that that power of the legislature is not at large.”

Speaking on the Comptroller General of the Customs Service, Col Ahmed Ali, Akinlaja said “he is a public servant by virtue of the fact that he is the Comptroller General of Custom Service.

“He owns moral and legal duty to ensure that the National Assembly, the Senate to be precise, is not brought to the public ridicule. What am saying here is that, where it clear that someone is under a duty to obey any invitation, it is fair enough and compulsory that he obeys.

“But in a situation where there is no such legality, I do not see any reason where anybody should not go to court of law to interpret whether is in the ambit of the constitution that the National Assembly has the right to invite.”