13062019 - Politicians, religious leaders fueling insecurity — BUHARI

Dr Agbakoba, SAN
Restoring hope to a blighted
people who are daily
confronted with hunger
disease, armed bandits,
kidnappers, and no jobs.
The 9th National Assembly,
NASS, must do everything
possible to see that
government's key objective to
protect lives and property is
achieved and Nigerians can
live in peace and harmony.
Then we can talk about the big
issues of power, infrastructure,
economy, restructuring etc.,
but for now, Nigerians need
immediate succour.
I expect the 9 th NASS to work
in harmony and not acrimony
with the executive for the
common good and I urge
them to all remember their
lofty words on the campaign
trail and to know that the
people expect to receive their
dividends of democracy now.
Prof. Ojukwu, SAN
The 9th National Assembly
should pay early and very
urgent attention to
constitutional and legislative
reforms, restructuring the
country in terms of control of
resources by the states and
giving the states more
responsibilities, establishing
state police, reducing the
workload of the Supreme
Court, reviewing the Electoral
Act, creating a radical Electoral
Offences Commission Act that
provides robust deterrence
against election financing
crimes, enacting a law against
living and owning above ones
means that places the burden
of proof on the defendant,
reviewing the Money
Laundering Act, and
establishing an independent
National Orientation Agency.
Mr Babatunde, SAN
They should put party politics
and affiliation aside in order
to unite against and confront
the myriad problems
confronting our fledgling
democracy especially grinding
poverty, unemployment,
corruption and palpable
insecurity all over the land.
They should guard their
independence but have
respect for other arms of
government. They should
work at strengthening and
safeguarding the judiciary,
because that is one of the
safety nets of our democracy
and bulwark of economic
recovery and progress. If the
judiciary comes to ruin under
their watch, we will all pay
dearly for such neglect,
omission or indifference.
Nigeria is now their overall
and collective constituency.
She deserves their love and
commitment for the
opportunity given them to
serve.
Dr Igbinedion.
With the inauguration, the
9th Assembly should
constructively assert itself and
rebuff attempts by the
executive branch to erode its
independence especially as it
affects its oversight function.
Secondly, it should urgently
arrest the descent of Nigeria
•Agbakoba, SAN
•Ojukwu, SAN
VANGUARD, THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2019 — 43
•Babatunde, SAN
08152060944
Lawyers set agenda for 9th National Assembly
By Innocent Anaba, Henry
Ojelu & Onozure Dania
he National Assembly on Tuesday, elected its principal
Tofficers after its inauguration, brining to an end, the tension
and apprehension that trailed the process. That phase having
been accomplished, it’s time for the lawmakers to settle down
for the serious business of making laws that will help place
Nigeria back on the path of growth.
In this edition of Vanguard Law and Human Rights, we sought
the views of lawyers on what should be the major
into Hobbesian state of nature
where life is short, nasty and
brutish as a result of the
murderous and atrocious
activities of herders, bandits,
kidnappers, etc amidst
executive branch’s reluctance
or incompetence to secure
lives and properties. Lastly,
the Assembly should suo motu
slash their salaries and
allowances to reasonable level
having regard to our laws and
international best practices.
Wahab Shittu
The 9th NASS must really
walk the talk in terms of
representation, law-making,
oversight and constructive
engagement. The lawmakers
really must focus on the next
generation and engrave their
names in letters of gold.
The lawmakers must walk the
talk as nation-builders. My
expectations are as follows:
1.List of cabinet ministers
must be speedily processed
and approved strictly on merit.
2.They should partner and
collaborate with other arms of
government, namely:
executive and judiciary in a
manner devoid of
confrontations and needless
grandstanding. Executive bills
and proposals must be
addressed strictly on merit.
3.Emphasis should be on
indicators of good governance
with focus on growth and
development. 4.The security
and welfare of the people
should be the primary purpose
of governance. The 9th NASS
must prioritise security of our
people and arrest the drift to
anarchy in our country.
Igbinedion Dele
The major preoccupation of the
9th Assembly should be a
concentration on human rights
and the administration of
justice. It is common
knowledge that human rights
enforcement in Nigeria is a
joke. Even the courts and our
judges do not consider human
rights as deserving of priority
treatment. Three areas must
be tackled: 1. Endorsement of
human rights must be
removed from the sole
jurisdiction of high courts.
This constitutional aberration
has been a death point for
many human rights cases. The
constitution must be amended
to confer jurisdiction to
enforce human rights on all
categories of courts.
2. The requirement for the
consent of Attorneys-General
of states or of the federation
before enforcing money
judgments against
government, must be
removed. It is an anachronism
whose time has expired.
3. Refusal to obey court
judgments must be made an
impeachable offence.
The leadership of the Senate
must bear this in mind that
Nigeria is in deep crisis both
in human and capital
resources. The unemployment
of her citizens, the
infrastructure collapse,
insecurity and a host of others,
are tough issues they must
deal with.
The 9th Senate must not be
distracted by the toga of
political leaning. Legislative
function demands total service
to the constituent units and not
party.
Evan Ufeli
The 9th Assembly must first
redirect itself to that basic and
forthright constitutional
objective of oversight function
especially as it relates to the
recovery of the economy. They
should remember even in the
euphoria of victory that the
victory of the citizenry - of the
masses, is the most important
and frontline achievement of
governance, so that agenda
must be pursued vigorously to
rescue the country from
outright collapse.
Yemi Omodele
With the set of politicians
elected to lead the 9th
National Assembly who are
more than one term in the
Assembly, Nigerians expect
They should put
party politics and
affiliation aside in
order to unite
against and
confront the
myriad problems
confronting our
f l e d g l i n g
democracy
especially
grinding poverty
preoccupation of the current National Assembly.
Those who spoke include former President of the Nigerian
Bar Association, NBA, Dr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN; Prof. Ernest
Ojukwu, SAN; Mr Layi Babatunde, SAN; Dr Simron
Igbinedion, Sub-dean Faculty of Law University of Lagos;
Law teacher, LASU, Wahab Shittu; Yemi Omodele; Evan Ufeli;
Terry Badmus; Emmanuel Ochai; Ogu Ogedi; Fadile David
and Igbinedion Dele.
them to do the needful in
terms of amendment of archaic
laws in the country. They
should ensure that budget is
passed as and when due, they
should distinguish themselves
from the 8th National
Assembly, who were hostile to
Nigerians and the country at
large. The 9th Assembly
should not be involved in any
form of budget padding and/
or manipulation. They should
give Nigeria good image in
the international community
rather than disgrace. They
should not turn themselves to
money launders. They should
have in mind that they are
there today but tomorrow they
may not be there. They should
know that the Assembly is not
their father’s house. They
should leave a legacy that will
project their good names
rather than hatred. Wishing
them best of luck.
Terry Badmus
They should hit the ground
running irrespective of party
affiliation, the interest of the
country should dictate to
them, especially the neverending
Petroleum Industry
Bill since the 7th Assembly.
The issue of state police to
address the prevailing
security threat ravaging the
whole country, should be
tackled with urgent
constitutional amendment.
Lastly, there should be a robust
relationship with other arms of
government especially the
executive, so that the issue of
yearly budget delay will be
over.
Emmanuel Ochai
I think their major
preoccupation should be
making laws that will be of
great benefit to Nigerians,
quality representation and
also to ensure speedy passage
of budget and other bills
brought before them. Their
loyalty should be to their
constituencies and Nigeria as
a whole and not to anybody or
political party.
The issue of jumbo pay and
many unspecified allowances
should be looked into by the
members, because if they
really want to serve the
people, they cannot be
receiving millions in salary
and other allowances while the
minimum wage is N30,000
and workers are still being
owed salaries for months.
•Ochai
They should not act as rubber
stamp for the executive arm of
government but an
independent and important
part of the government whose
functions include checks and
balances for proper separation
of powers.
Ogu Ogedi
With the commencement of the
9th Assembly, it is expected
that they must hit the ground
ruining. And this, they must
do with promptitude.
The era of window dressing
is over. It's either they are
performing as expected or
they are only an extension of
the plundering of the wealth.
The era of milking the tax
payers should be over, it is
time to ensure the enactment
of economic policies to revive
and improve the lot of the long
suffering masses.
The 9th Senate should look at
the bills that were rejected,
dust them up, amend were
necessary and ensure their
passage. They must be ready
to work out bills that should
revive everything wrong with
our polity. We all cannot afford
to fail. The leadership and
indeed, the members of the
9th Assembly must as a matter
of urgency, roll up their
sleeves and go to work.
Fadile David
What I consider should be
their pre-occupation now is to
liaise with the executive to see
to the end of the insecurity
that has ravaged the entire
country to the extent that the
Governor of Ondo State
stated recently that there was
an attempt to kidnap him.
This is unprecedented in the
history of this nation.
Nigerian citizens can no
longer walk freely in their own
country because of the
activities of kidnappers and
bandits. The other issue is to
ensure that their outrageous
salaries and allowances are
reduced. Lastly, is the fact that
all members must work
together in the interest of the
nation at large, regardless of
party affiliation. The era of
executive and legislative rift
should be jettisoned at least
in the interest of the larger
populace. Budget should be
passed as soon as possible
rather than mudslinging
witnessed in the 8th
Assembly.
C
M
Y
K