BRIGANDAGE IN PLATEAU, IMO ASSEMBLIES

The cost of constant bickering in the legislative houses is high on good governance

After weeks of acrimony following the impeachment of their Speaker, Abok Ayuba, by eight out of 24 members, the premises of the Plateau State House of Assembly was recently sealed up by the police. In a similar development, the Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Paul Emeziem, was last week impeached at a session presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Amara Iwuanyanwu, who had been impeached a week earlier by the same members. The immediate consequence of this interminable bickering in the legislative houses is its toll on the quality of debate and legislation for good governance in our country. The ultimate victims of this unfortunate state of affairs are people of Imo and Plateau States who are denied quality and effective representation.

The overall cost of the ongoing actions to our democracy is high. The message unwittingly being sent out is that politicians could engage in any reckless, unlawful, improper and questionable activities as long as their interests are served. It is then little surprise that we are being marked down as a country where anything goes, where obstacles are deliberately placed on perceived opponents, and where a constitutional instrument meant to enhance good governance can easily be wilfully abused and desecrated. Last Tuesday, the Senate passed a resolution condemning the disruption of legislative business in the Plateau Assembly due to the illegal impeachment of the speaker by a minority, a decision that has also been similarly condemned by the Conference of Speakers of the 36 States. But nobody seems to be paying them any attention.

Although the frequency of impeachment of speakers of Houses of Assembly may seem like a circus by some unserious political jesters, what it does is to present Nigeria in bad light. With very little excuse and sometimes for pecuniary reasons, legislators have no qualms about impeaching their speakers. Yet behind most of the impeachments is the overbearing disposition of the governors who seek to lord and emasculate the legislative arm of government in their states. That is particularly the situation in Plateau State where Governor Simon Lalong is fingered as the man behind the crisis.

Speakers, as we have reiterated several times, do not have absolute powers of their own. They remain ‘executive heads’ of the legislative branch by virtue of being elected by their peers. In other words, they are first among equals. But the moment some of them are elevated to the office, they begin to hobnob with the executive branch, sometimes turning themselves into errand boys of their governors at the expense of the legislature. That has led to the undoing of some speakers. But the manner in which many have lost their jobs indeed calls to question the seriousness with which the lawmakers perceive their assignment.

Although there are constitutional provisions for removing speakers and other erring public officers, assembly members most often invoke flimsy excuses for seeking the ouster of the incumbent office holder. While advocating that the parties in the Plateau Assembly crisis should look beyond their personal interest, a former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, said the issue is about how the world sees us as a serious democratic country. “It is about whether the rest of the world will see us as a people who lack respect for due process and therefore incapable of putting the provisions of our constitution to work on simple matters,” said Saraki. “How can we, after 22 years of democracy, be talking of the impeachment of a Speaker by eight members in a 24-member legislature, and a picture of a parliamentary proceeding to impeach the Speaker holding at 7am?”

That is a question for all the political stakeholders in Plateau State to answer.