Prof. Frank Asogwa of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) has said that there is no breach of law in the election of the National Assembly principal officers.
Asogwa, who is the Dean, Faculty of Law of the university, made this known in Nsukka, Enugu State, on Thursday.
He said that President Muhammadu Buhari had already issued the proclamation for the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly and so there should be no excuse for absence.
“Since there was proclamation for the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 9, anybody who failed to be present should blame him or herself and not anybody.
“The Tuesday Senate and House of Representatives elections of their principals followed due constitutional process as there is no breach of any law.
“The aggrieved APC senators can go to court as court belongs to everybody, but it will amount to waste of time, energy and money.
“It is when there is any breach of law that one can you go to court to seek redress, but in this case there is nothing like that,’’ he said.
Asogwa said that the election of Bukola Saraki as Senate President and the re-election of Senator Ike Ekweremandu as Deputy Senate President, was political lobbying that was accepted all over the world.
“Political lobbying is allowed in politics and is never an offence as it’s practiced all over the world.
“What happened that Tuesday is PDP senators scratching the back of some APC senators and APC also scratching the back of PDP which is allowed in politics.
“It shows that Nigeria democracy is gradually gaining ground,’’ he said.
The dean said what happened during the 8th National Assembly inauguration should be a lesson to political party leaders in the country.
He said such leaders who most times want to impose leadership on national and state assemblies should rethink.
“This is not the first time National Assembly members dump party approved candidates.
“The same scenario played out in 2011 when House of Representatives member ignored PDP preferred candidates and elected Aminu Tambuwal and Emeka Ihedioha, as Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively.
“I will advise aggrieved APC senators to accept what happened in the interest of peace, justice and democracy as they will achieve nothing in going to court.’’
Asogwa, however, advised the APC national leadership to use appropriate party laws to discipline erring members it found guilty of involving in anti-party activities or disobeying party leadership.
“The party can discipline erring party member but should be careful in ‘wielding that big stick’ to avoid creating more factions and overheating the party polity,’’ Asogwa said.
He advised APC to allow the `sleeping dog to lie’ in order not to create more problems for Mr President as well as the party.
Also, the National Secretary of Labour Party (LP), Mr Kayode Ajulo, says the emergence of Saraki as Senate President “is a manifestation of the rule of law”.
Ajulo said in Abuja on Thursday that the process, which led to the election of Senate’s presiding officers, was in line with the provisions of the Constitution.
He added that the development demonstrated that the era where a few individuals in a political party exerted overbearing control over majority of the members was over.
“This development is significant because it is a battle between the proponents of the rule of law and proponents of the whims and caprices of individuals.
“A few individuals always believe that they would always have their way over the popular majority. But they have been proved wrong.
“This is what a political party has caused itself because it chose to get some of its lawmakers to a meeting outside at the expense of inauguration which had constitutional proclamation’’, he said.
Ajulo faulted the lawmakers who went for a meeting outside the National Assembly.
“They are deluding themselves that the inauguration would have been shifted to enable them to honour party directive.’’
He said the outcome of the election would serve as a lesson to political parties to know the limit of their powers.
“They went away on their own will thinking that the inauguration, which had presidential proclamation, would be put on hold.
“Political parties can meet in caucuses but cannot impose their directives on others. Members of the National Assembly should decide who presides over them.’’
Mr Abang Odok-Ogar, a human rights lawyer, said the outcome of the election of presiding officers of the National Assembly was a demonstration of the new democratic spirit in the country.
“That is a demonstration of pure maturity. It is a practical example of the kind of leadership we should expect from the new president.
“This will usher in a respectable executive-legislature relation.
“As long as the president adheres to democratic tenets in discharge of his statutory functions, the legislature would cooperate with the executive to deliver good governance.’’
Saraki became Senate President unopposed while Hon. Yakubu Dogara defeated Femi Gbajabiamila to emerge as the Speaker, House of Representatives, on June 9.
