The president of the Nigeria Bar Association Augustine Alegeh, SAN, on Saturday attributed the leadership crisis currently brewing in the Federal House of Representatives over the defection of the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, to loopholes in the Nigerian Constitution.
Alegeh, who disclosed this to journalists after a meeting of the Midwest Bar Forum comprising lawyers from Edo and Delta, also identified poor administration of justice in the country as a factor responsible the removal of Tambuwal’s security aides by the Nigeria Police.
The NBA chief explained that the Nigerian Constitution did not envisage the defection of the Speaker or Senate President, since both offices were expected to preside over the argument of a lawmaker defecting from one party to another.
He said that the police erred by withdrawing the security details attached to the speaker because the power to determine whether or not there had been a breach of the constitution in the defection of the Tambuwal to the All Progressives Congress was beyond the jurisdiction of the agency.
“Section 68 of the constitution enumerates the procedure to be adopted by the National Assembly when a member defects from one party to another.
“Unless and until that procedure is followed and adopted, Aminu Tambuwal remains speaker of the House of Representatives.
“We have stated clearly that the police lacks jurisdictional competence to determine whether or not there has been a breach of the constitution; that duty is a function of the court.
“There is no provision in our constitution that says if you are in PDP or APC and you decamp to another party you automatically lose your position of leadership of the House, the NBA president said.
Explaining further, Alegeh stated that there was nothing in the Constitution or legal jurisprudence which read that the Speaker or President of the Senate must come from the ruling party, rather “all that must happen is that majority of members of the House must vote for him.”
He said “There ought to be an expectation where a speaker of the House who is charge constitutionally to declare a seat vacant is the person in the act of decamping.
“He should allow his deputy to preside over the sitting so that when he presents his reasons for decamping, the deputy can take a decision.
“In the case of Aminu Tambuwal, he has said that ‘I’m leaving the PDP for the APC.’ The next question under the constitution is that he gives reasons and the Speaker of the House will arrive at a decision whether the reasons he has given are in accordance with the constitution.”
Speaking on the role of the court in the matter, Alegeh said that it was important for the court to always act in order to uphold democracy.
He also described as unacceptable the pending court cases of some Peoples Democratic Party lawmakers who decamped to the APC, which he said had lasted for an upward of eight months in court, noting that the argument surrounding Tambuwal’s defection would not have arisen, if such cases had been resolved.
“We call on our justices and judges that their duty to uphold the constitution is sacred. When there is a delay correcting the constitution, then their is a denial of justice.
“And when their is a denial of justice, people resort to self help. The present situation involving Tambuwal would have been avoided if the judiciary had given a pronouncement on the issue of decamping.
“The present situation, with respect, is a direct fallout from the inability of our courts to determine this matter earnestly.
“As of now, the simple matter of the interpretation of Section 68 is lacking forever. This is unacceptable. Any judge that is charged with that interpretation must be able to do so within one week,” he said.
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