10th National Assembly: President, legislature horse trading Nigerians destinies – Lawyer, Mudiaga Odje

Constitutional lawyer and facilitator of the Centre for the Advancement of the Rule of Law, Dr Akpo Mudiaga Odje, has claimed that the president and the legislature are horse trading the destiny of Nigerians.

Odje stated this in an interview with Saturday Vanguard. 

He said, “On influencing the leadership of the legislature by the President, it has been a very regrettable new trend, which is a fratricidal infraction into the supremacy of the constitution and the ideological separation of powers. 

“It is not unusual for a President to lobby for the election of a person he can have a seamless working relationship with; however, what obtains in Nigeria today is anything but lobby.”

He noted that, on the contrary, the legislative leadership is foisted on that supposed independent arm of government by the President. 

He said, “It is so overbearing, if not over abrasive on the independence of the legislature. The matter even becomes worse, when both the sponsored leadership and the President hail from the same party. 

“Here, the citizens and democracy suffer a distorted and contorted leadership as both the legislature and the president, are horse-trading the people’s destinies.

“It is a product of negotiated personal interests, and harmonization of greed and zest for power, between the legislature and the executive. However, one must not put the entire blame on the President or the political party;

“ I would instead indict the legislature more because it always fails to assert its independence in electing its leadership, lucidly protected by the Constitution. The most asinine of these acts of political shenanigans and callous pasturing is for an elected legislator to proceed to present his certificate of return to the head of another arm of government, headed by the President.

“This is a comprehensive advertisement of an overdose of endemic ignorance. It is no doubt in our view that these very shameful practices have taken their toll on the political fabric of the country, whilst at the same time, seriously stultifying our democracy. 

“We, therefore, suggest strongly to the legislature to hold its grounds and jealously protect its independence as pungently guaranteed and cocooned, under our constitution, for Nigerians to, for once, also witness a flourishing and unadulterated democracy.”