The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has advised the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to allow members of the 10th National Assembly to elect whoever they want to govern their affairs without interference.
Ango Abdullahi, elder statesman and convener of the NEF, who said this on Saturday at a press conference in Abuja, noted that it was only fair for the lawmakers to elect their leaders in line with the independence of each arm of government.
“This is an honest advice to those in the position of responsibility to avoid a situation perhaps to run into saying something has been imposed. We experienced this in the past; there was a lot of interference.
“As far as we know and in our various discussions at the level of the society particularly at our level in the Northern Elders Forum. To emphasise this point, the constitution should be strictly adhered to by all concerned, meaning that the National Assembly is expected after a declaration to decide who will be the President of the Senate and other various appendages who will go with them.
“The National Assembly is an autonomous body that is supposed to decide not just its leadership but its mode of operation, as long as it is within the larger frame of the constitution of this country.
“Our constitution provides for three autonomous branches of government, not that they should not work together, but they work together so that they serve as some kind of oversight check depending on what is happening in other branches of government. So the constitution is very clear about the separation of power within the executive arm, the legislative arm, and the judiciary,” Abdullahi said.
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“Right now we are at a point when the National Assembly is supposed to have leaders and the leadership of the two chambers, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Each chamber, even within the context of the National Assembly, is also independent in deciding how this should be done. But the bottom line, the basic foundation, is the constitution of the country, which stipulates that there will be such and such institution, and that is how this institution will be formed and how the institution is supposed to provide its leadership.
“So, if we are going, to be honest in advising people who care about this country, the NASS members-elect should be left entirely alone to decide who their leaders will be in the process that the various chambers have themselves decided, they have very clear rules, how nominations for those who are interested would come.
“The basic foundation is the constitution of the country, which stipulates very clearly that there would be such an institution and how it will be formed and provides its leadership. As far as we know, the constitution should be strictly adhered to by all concerned.
“The ruling party is not in charge of the National Assembly, which is an independent body,” he added.
The 10th National Assembly will be inaugurated on Tuesday, June 13.
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