The DG, Movement For Greater Nigeria, Comrade Okedara Okedara, has carpeted what the group called clandestine moves to modify the Standing Rules of both the Senate and House of Representatives in order to allow first term lawmakers emerge as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 10th National Assembly, stressing that such evolution will undermine the global parliamentary policy and ridicule Nigeria’s highest lawmaking institutions.
MFGN also expressed dissatisfaction that amending the Standing Rules at this point will clearly expose a grand design to favour certain personality, protect special interests as well as belittle the institution and generate an unprecedented tension in the race for the leadership of the legislative assembly.
The DG, Movement For Greater Nigeria, Comrade Kolawole Okedara, in a statement issued in Abuja, pointed out that while all lawmakers-elect are qualified to run for the four Presiding Offices in both chambers, the Nigeria’s National Assembly must always strive to raise the bar and not to indulge in activities that will undermine and make the institution as weak and without a mind of its own.
MFGN maintained that the United States of America, where Nigeria dubbed her democracy from, as well as other democracies such as South Africa and many others, places priority on cognate legislative experience.
The statement read, “In the USA, you cannot just emerge as Speaker or even a Committee Chairman as first-timer. In South Africa, you can’t even be appointed Chairman of the Committee of Rules and Business as a fresher, let alone Speaker”.
“The Nigerian Parliament cannot keep amending the Standing Rules in such a manner that is shameful and without recourse to the integrity of the institution.
And we are of the strong opinion that amending the Standing Rules of the National Assembly at this time under the leadership of Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, who has so far offered and led a progressive and peaceful National Assembly, will destroy the good works and lower the bar, if the standing rules is tampered with at this time”
“Laws and rules are not meant to favour certain individuals and, we urge the Senate President to live above board and resist the temptation to pander to the whims and caprices of external forces and allow lawmakers with the cognate experience to lead the 10th National Assembly.”
The group maintained that all the returning lawmakers were all eminently qualified to lead each of the two chambers, adding that, “We are equally concerned that Nigerian institutions have of late, become notorious for changing the rules in the middle of a game and that is quite frightening, it has made Nigeria a laughing stock and even, posses grave danger for our democracy”.
“The Chairman of the INEC for instance, unnecessarily switched the rules during collation of a Presidential election, which by the way, the APC presidential candidate, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu would still have won. His behaviour have now, given the opposition grounds to challenge the process.”
“Today, the National Assembly is planning to amend standing Rules also in a contest that the most popular and acceptable candidate will still win without considering that once rules are changed ,the opposition parties will smell a rat and use their numbers frustrate those first timers and consequently change the face of the leadership like they did in 2015.”
“Nations do not grow with such impunity. We believe that there is nothing wrong with the current Standing Rules and even if there is a compelling need for its amendment, it should not be now that it will clearly mean to favour certain individuals and protect certain interests.”
“The Senate President must understand that the business of lawmaking itself is serious business and the assumption that a former Governor or former Minister or former Head of agency will automatically understand that business of lawmaking much more than a lawmaker with the cognate experience is just a wishful thought that defies all known logic and designed to make nonsense of the parliament,” MFGN stressed.