The Convener of Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Prof. Ango Abdulahi, says National Assembly should be allowed to elect its presiding officers.
TheHintsNews reports that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had endorsed Senator Godswill Akpabio (South-south) as the president of the 10th Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau as Deputy Senate President; while Hon. Tajudeen Abbas was endorsed as the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Hon. Ben Kalu as Deputy Speaker.
However, speaking during a media interaction on Saturday in Abuja, Abdulahi was of the opinion that the ruling party should allow the process of electing presiding officers in the legislative arm takes its full course.
According to him, And this course is for the members-elect to determine who the leaders will be through the process that has been agreed by them in their chambers.
He emphasised that since the constitution provides for three arms of government independent of each other, the legislative arm should be allowed to elect its leaders.
The elder statesman noted that the constitution should be strictly adhered to by all concerns.
His words: “National Assembly is an autonomous body that is supposed to decide not just his leadership, but also it’s mode of operation as long as it is within the larger frame of the constitution of this country.
“So, if we’re going to be honest and give advice to people who care about this country, the National Assembly members-elect should be left entirely alone to decide who their leaders will be.”
“Our constitution provides for three autonomous branches of government. Not that they should not work together, but they can work together in the overall interest of the country.
“They serve as some kind of oversight checks depending on what is happening in other branches of government. So the constitution is very clear about the separation of powers between the executive branch, the legislative arm and the judiciary.”