From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
A pressure group, Coalition of True Democrats, has charged House of Representatives members-elect to reject attempts by the All Progressives Congress ( APC) to impose a leadership on the 10th House.
The group, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Mustapha Yusuf, urged lawmakers-elect to be on guard against any action that would compromise the independence of the legislature.
Recall that the APC had named chairman, House Committee on Land Transport, Tajudeen Abass and chairman, House Committee on Media and Publicity, Benjamin Kalu as its preferred candidates for the positions of speaker and deputy speaker in the 10th House.
However, the choice of the duo has been trailed by condemnation, with many stakeholders describing it as an attempt by external forces to hijack the House in the next political dispensation.
Consequently, the coalition urges lawmakers-elect to freely choose from among aspirants jostling for the speakership of the 10th House based on their pedigree level of acceptability, competence and experience over the years.
It added :”The President Elect must not allow anti-democratic forces to cajole him into interfering in a function exclusively provided for the legislators by the Nigerian Constitution. Those behind it are doing so for their own personal and selfish biddings, which is inimical to our nation’s democracy.
“For those who crafted the word democracy and indeed separation of powers, the idea is to have an independent arm of government called the legislature for the purpose of providing checks and balances, in such a manner to avoid the concentration of powers in one body, as this would lead to usurp of powers and consequently degenerate to dictatorship, tyranny and operation.
“Section 50 (1a) and (1b) is clear and unambiguous as it states that the Speaker and Deputy Speaker shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.
“This simply implies that any other person or persons or group of persons nominating the principal officers of both houses other than the representatives themselves is null, void and unconstitutional, therefore amounts to an aberration, which is tantamount to usurping the powers of the legislators thereby exposing the fragile democracy of Nigeria to jeopardy.”
