Senate Spokesman Gives  Ninth National Assembly  High Rating

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

Spokesman of the Senate and Senator representing Osun Central Senatorial District of Osun State at the National Assembly, Senator Suraju Ajibola Basiru, has said that since the proclamation of the ninth National Assembly, it has remained on its toes in driving meaningful and impactful changes within the polity.

Senator Basiru, who spoke with THISDAY in Ilorin  yesterday on the sideline of the just concluded press week of the Osun state Broadcasting Corporation of the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ), Osogbo, stated that this feat was achieved by the members of the Senate through the instrumentality of its lawmaking powers in accordance with the Constitution of the country.

The Senator delivered a lecture entitled, “The Place of Legislature in a Constitutional Democracy” at the event.

He said: “I dare say, that the record number of quality legislations (emphasis supplied) so far passed is indicative of the nationalistic desire to ensure that the nation is steadied on the path of peace, social justice and sustainable economic growth. I take great delight in reminding this distinguished gathering that, to the credit of the 9th National Assembly, the Petroleum Industry Act that has defied over twenty years of legislative intervention was passed and signed into law by the President.”

He added:  “Under a constitutional democracy, the elected government and the people are all subjected to the authority of a supreme law, that is, the Constitution.

“Thus, a constitutional democracy is one where the people get to decide who their leaders, but where the rights and freedoms of the individual are guaranteed and protected by a Constitution.

It posits therefore that a constitutional democracy is the antithesis of arbitrary rule.

Constitutional democracy is marked by the presence of indicators such as popular sovereignty, majority and minority rights, free press, limited government, institutional and procedural limitations on powers and so on”.

Senator Basiru noted that, “In a constitutional democracy, the separation of powers, preservation and protection of fundamental rights enshrined in a Constitution protects the individual from the overbearing state authority and influence.

“The legislature is a distinct arm of government comprising of politicians vested with the power to make, amend and repeal the laws of a state or a country.

“The legislature is usually mentioned as the first beneficiary of the power sharing arrangement in a country’s constitution and widely regarded as an important institution of democracy because it is a fractional composition and representation of the people seated in a designated place to deliberate over the affairs of State.

“The legislature controls through legislation all economic, social and political activities of a nation. Hence the legislature is seen as the watchdog over other arms of government.

“The legislature is an independent institution saddled with the responsibility of representing the interests and meeting the aspirations of the citizens through the instrumentality of law-making and exercise of its powers of oversight on the executive arm of government.

“On the strength of the above, the Nigerian Press performs its surveillance and vigilance duties over the socio-political environment and regardless of the fact that it is not expressly named as a direct beneficiary of the power-sharing structure outlined in the Constitution, the power of the Nigerian Press is intrinsically derived from the sovereignty of the Nigerian people and that in itself is instructive.”

He therefore, said: “There is no gainsaying that the continued political legitimacy of any government is guaranteed by the freedom of speech and other democratic rights that the citizens enjoy.”