SAMSON OSAGIE, Minority Whip and member representing Orhionmwon/Uhunmwonde Federal Constituency, Edo State, in the House of Representatives, talks to Special Correspondent, TITUS OISE, on gains of parliamentary system of government, limitations of the national conference decisions and crisis in Edo House of Assembly, among others.
Legislating on laws at deepening the nation’s democracy
Samson Osagie
It’s been quite a challenging experience being in the National Assembly (NASS). It has been challenging and exciting at the same time because of the democratic nature of our country, considering the political consciousness and culture of our people. Within the context of the challenges that bedevil our great nation, making laws for a country such as Nigeria has been quite difficult, in the sense that we run an administration where the executive organ of government feels that it practically owns the government. So the legislature is endangered species, not having the long tradition and history of being an entrenched institution of democracy. For me, it’s been quite experiential too because I have seen the great deal of resolutions being made, and that is what the constitution says; that the National Assembly shall exercise its power through the making of laws and passing of resolutions.
On the whole, our country is on a democratic path, being endangered by a political party that wants to hold on to government by all means, and does not allow for a democratic space for others to participate; a party that believes that in a democratic setting you can capture territories as if you were in a military era, doing everything possible to decimate opposition parties and their leaders. It is within this context that we found ourselves making laws and resolutions. The impunity going on in our land is for Nigerians to just say no. Nigerians need to rise to effect the administration of change in this country; that is the only way political parties in Nigeria can learn. If we remain complacent, if we remain unperturbed and say let it continue, we are going to be worse for it. Those who lose election will go to their homes, but the society will be the loser.
The Nigerian people need to know, even if for change sake, that they need to change this government and to ensure that those who are elected into public offices are there to represent them because the impunity going on in our country is too crazy. This is a country where there are no jobs, no industries. The vast majority of the people are wallowing in poverty and yet this is a government that is so inconsiderate using money to pursue all political opponents. Our anti-corruption agencies are being used to haunt political opponents, while those who are actually involved in crime are walking free and making huge donations to their communities. This government needs to be changed by the people of Nigeria.
It is not a matter for one political party; it is a matter for the Nigerian people. I call on the Nigerian people to be steadfast to push their votes to effect a change in the government of this country, and if they don’t do it, no one will do it for them.
NASS not being able to reduce the power of the executive
Making laws or amending the constitution to reduce the power of the executive is not a problem because that is a function of the presidential system of government that we operate. The type of presidential system of government that we operate is not entirely in tandem with the presidential system that is practised in America. For example, in budgeting, the congress office of budget is fully in charge; the executive government of America hardly contributes. They play the major role of implementation, whereas on our own side, the president is empowered by the constitution to lay before NASS the budget estimate for the next financial year.
So, more often, the president wants you to return the budget to him the way it is. After all, he is the one managing the economy; he is the one that knows everything, especially with Ngozi Okongo-Iweala, who knows everything, around. So, it is a function of our system. What I believe we can advocate for is to return to a parliamentary system of government. Apart from the fact that it is cost-saving, it is most efficient and in that system there is no overload. The Prime Minister is a member of the parliament. Secretaries and ministers of government are appointed from the parliament. So, issues of governance are determined from the parliament. You might say that the kind of power split is not synonymous with the separation of power, but it’s a version I believe will suit our system.
Given the heterogonous vastness of our nation, the poor state of our infrastructure, the lack of opportunity in economy decision, and decision for our people, we need a straight curve of governance and a small central government for productive services for the people. So if we have such system of government, we will not have an over-burdened executive which will hold the entire government to itself with the exclusion of the legislative arm of government. Three hundred and sixty members of the House of Representatives and 109 members of the Senate in the NASS are held by the executive. In the exercise of power, the president is more powerful that all of them. I don’t think that is the best form of government for us. It also depends on who is the president. The head of government that does not appreciate the other organs of government cannot make a good head of presidential system of government. That is why we need to go back to parliamentary system of government. I am an advocate of parliamentary system of government.
It is not about us cutting down the powers of the president. The powers of the president are given by the constitution, and the political structure believes that it is their right to divide the parliamentary structure, so that you don’t have, enough support even from the parliament. They use their political party to divide the House. NASS cannot even speak as one body, because it is divided.
I think Nigeria is in a state to move, and that is through constitutional and political reform. I am surprised that at confab, nobody talked about it.
Sometime last year, NASS members went round their various constituencies, talking about constitution amendment and reforms. Till this moment, we have not heard anything about it, making one to wonder if it was a smokescreen.
Coincidentally, at the level of the House of Representatives, I am the chairman of the sub-technical committee on constitution amendment. There is a general committee on amendment headed by the deputy speaker, but I am the chairman of the sub-technical committee that looked into the nitty gritty of over 365 sessions of the constitution we are amending. At the House of Representatives level, regarding constitution amendment, we have concluded all matters and we constituted a conference committee. The Senate had also constituted a conference committee. We have only one step to go right now, and that is for the committees to meet and agree on all the issues and then we can send it to the Houses of Assembly. Constitution making and constitution amendment is not an easy process. It’s not what you hurriedly do. We have taken pains to ensure that those issues that are of public importance are dealt with. Again, in the course of doing that, we have also had cause to receive memos from other people that we needed to include and subject them to the legislative process.
Role of NASS on confab decisions
I have not seen what they have deliberated on for these past three months that are not in previous reports. I have not seen anything new that they did. I stand to be corrected. I am not also in position to say what the role of NASS should be, because there is no constitutional or legal foundation for the conference. So, if the constitution does not say what they should meet on, then there should be no basis for the NASS to forcefully accept their resolution. Perhaps, Mr. President knows what he wants to do with it, and the NASS at this stage has no role. If Mr. President chooses to forward a bill, not a report, an executive bill on constitution amendment based on the recommendations of the conference, then the NASS will look at the bill, not the report. In NASS, we don’t deal with reports; we deal with bills. If the president, after the issuance of the White Paper, feels strongly about the issues they canvassed, let him forward an executive bill to the committee on constitutional and political reforms, and then the bill will be in our court. Maybe he wants to subject it to a referendum; then, we will ask what the legal foundation is. The legal community will need to ask questions. For now, NASS has no role to play.
Show of shame in Edo House of Assembly
What is happening in Edo State is the tyranny and desperation of a minority against the determination of a majority. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has become so desperate, not only in Edo State, but across the nation. The evidences are getting clearer by the day. They have removed Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, while also looking for ways to remove Adams Oshiomhole (Edo) and Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers). PDP members of the House, instead of seeking legal means of redress, have resorted to self-help to cause mayhem and disunity in the state. Looking at the issues involved, four members were suspended from the House. They left the issue of why they were suspended.
I am not going to the merits and demerits of why they were suspended. I am only saying what they ought to have done. If they had said: Court, please, revoke our suspension on so, and so ground, the likelihood is that they would have gotten judgment. Don’t forget that they were the first to go to court, and the court gave an order to say: “House of Assembly, don’t declare their seats vacant; however, we cannot interfere with the disciplinary power of the House”. The house exercised its disciplinary power. So whether they did, rightly or not, it is for the court to determine. The Court of Appeal has come out to say: you guys are abusing the process of court. The same people who are going to court to appeal are the same people who are going to the Assembly to sit. Where do they want their help to come from? So, what you are seeing in Edo is the desperation of the PDP to take over the state by all means possible, irrespective of if the government on ground has performed well or not.
I believe Edo people should be wise enough to know that these Assembly men who were elected to represent them are not doing their will. If they were to be doing their will, they will employ all the necessary legal means to address the issues affecting them. How does a nine-member House begin to make laws for a state, when you have 15 members elsewhere?
I have advised my colleagues not to allow themselves as parliamentarians to be used, that they will be destroying the institution of legislature that we cherish so much and we want to build to an enviable height. The show of shame going on there is so unfortunate, and I believe that, on a daily basis, the Edo people know those who are making mockery, and those who are actually serious.
As far as I am concerned, what is going on in Edo is very unfortunate, and the police are allowing themselves to be used.
Adamawa experience and democratic health
It is not in any way healthy. It also shows the desperation of the PDP ahead of 2015 elections. Like I said, there is just one solution. That is, for the Nigerian people to use their ballots to effect a change in this country, not for a political party or individual. That is the only solution. All these can happen, but if Nigerians decide to speak with one voice, all the impunity can come to an end. The PDP wants to reduce the number of states in the stronghold of the All Progressives Congress (APC), so that it can win elections easily across the country in 2015. But it is possible that they are making mistakes. You remove their governors; you may not remove the people and what is in their minds. We need to change the PDP government in this country, and I say it with all sense of responsibility. I have been in PDP and now I am in the APC. It is not a matter of APC, but the change. The only people that can do this are the Nigerian people; else, we are going to remain in this situation.
