Members of the House of Representatives
broke into a rowdy session on Tuesday as tempers rose over a proposed
immunity against prosecution for presiding officers of the National
Assembly.
It also included presiding officers of State Houses of Assembly.
The immediate beneficiaries of the
proposal, which came in the form of a bill, would be the President of
the Senate, Bukola Saraki; Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Yakubu Dogara; Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; and Deputy
Speaker of the House, Yussuff Lasun.
All the officials have a four-year
tenure running till 2019, a period in which the National Assembly would
have also concluded fresh amendments to the 1999 Constitution.
Presiding officers of legislative houses do not enjoy immunity from prosecution at the moment under the constitution.
But, the rowdiness started on Tuesday
after the House Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, introduced an amendment
to Section 308 of the constitution to include presiding officers of the
National Assembly among political office holders covered by the immunity
clause.
The proposal by Ogor, a Peoples
Democratic Party lawmaker from Delta State, read, “Section 308 (3) of
the ‘Principal Act’ is altered by adding the words Senate President,
Speaker, Deputy Senate President, Deputy Speaker, immediately after the
word, Vice-President, and also to include Speaker of a State House of
Assembly, Deputy Speaker of a State House of Assembly immediately after
the word, Deputy Governor.”
Defending his proposal, Ogor stated that the legislature needed as much protection as the executive arm of government.
He added that presiding officers should
be shielded from prosecution for the period they occupied their seats
for the sole purpose of protecting the legislature in a democracy.
“We can see what is happening in the Senate and particularly, what the Senate President is facing.
“I seek this amendment because of the independence of the legislature.”
However, he had hardly rounded off his debate when murmuring began on the floor.
Yet, Ogor still managed to get the backing of the Chairman, House Committee on Ethics/Privileges, Mr. Nicholas Ossai.
He said, “The constitution as we have it
today, guarantees protection for the executive. We have to include
immunity for the National Assembly because legislators need protection
to work.
“When you protect the legislature, you protect the people.”
As Ossai resumed his seat, the House Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, jumped to his feet to oppose the amendment.
Gbajabiamila noted that two things were wrong with the amendment, the “timing” and the integrity of the National Assembly.
The All Progressives Congress lawmaker
from Lagos State, argued that the National Assembly existed to serve the
interest of Nigerians at all times.
He said the mood of Nigerians at this time did not support immunity for National Assembly presiding officers.
Gbajabiamila added, “Nigerians do not
support this bill because of the timing. The assumption will be that we
are making this amendment because of what is happening in the Senate.”
He told the House that he did not know of any country “in the world” where officers of the legislature enjoyed immunity.
Dogara tried to end the debate by saying
that the bill should be referred to the Ad hoc Committee on
Constitution Review as had been the practice of treating bills dealing
on the constitution.
But his intervention triggered off the rowdiness as the majority of members wanted the bill thrown out outright.
The Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, raised his hands to shout “no immunity! “
Many lawmakers echoed Jibrin’s
opposition, including Mr. Aliyu Madaki, who advised members to be wary
of the “integrity” of the legislature if they passed the amendment.
Between 12.17pm and 1.38pm, there was a temporary halt in proceedings as members consulted on how to resolve the issue.
After some calm was restored, Dogara
explained that his decision to send the bill to the Ad hoc Committee was
in line with the provisions of Order 8 (98) of the Standing Orders of
the House.
He noted that the rule provided that a constitution amendment bill should be sent to the Ad hoc Committee.
“In that committee, we have all the experts. They will debate the bill and even choose to kill it there.
“They may not even return the bill to the House. This is not like we are going to pass this amendment today,” the Speaker said.
Amid the opposition from many members,
who did not want the bill to pass second reading, Dogara went ahead to
ram his gavel and forwarded it to the ad hoc committee.
The ad hoc committee is chaired by Lasun and has embers drawn from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
