Senate President David Mark yesterday talked
tough on the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, saying he is given to
“unguarded and careless comments.”
The Senate president was reacting to Maku’s
recent comments that resolutions of the National Assembly were not binding on
the executive. He said the minister does not think properly before he talks and
threatened that the senate will be forced to recommend the removal of any
minister who behaved as such.
The Senate and the House of Representatives had passed separate
resolutions urging the Federal Government to appeal the judgment of the
International Court of Justice.
Nigeria has 16 days to re-open its case under Article 61 of the
ICJ status of 1946 in respect of the Bakassi Peninsula which the international
court ceded to Cameroun on October 10, 2002.
But while speaking as a guest of People’s Forum, a programme
organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), said the resolutions of
the two chambers of the Assembly on the issue was not an Act therefore not
binding on the executive arm of government.
“A resolution by the National Assembly is not an Act. The
National Assembly makes laws but the laws are different from resolutions. While
the laws made by the National Assembly are binding on the government, including
citizens, the same is not with resolutions. Resolutions are not binding on
government as they are just positions of the legislators. The government can
say yes, we have seen your position but this way is better,” the minister had
said.
Angered by the minister’s statement, Mark called on President
Goodluck Jonathan to caution the minister, warning that the Senate would not
hesitate to recommend his (Maku’s) removal if he repeats the comment.
“I think the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, is just a
careless talker. There was really no need absolutely for him to say our
resolutions are not binding on the executive. He talks very carelessly, and we
need to educate him. I hope that the president will caution him and call him to
order. And I think that next time he (Maku) does that, we will take a
resolution here that any minister who talks carelessly be removed”, he said.
Mark also asked the senators to stop the habit of asking
ministerial nominees to take a bow during their screening, saying they
(senators) should learn a hard lesson from Maku’s “unguarded and careless
comments.”
But shortly after the Senate president’s angry comments, the
Information Minister Labaran Maku apologised to the Senate saying his comments
were not meant to denigrate or disparage the institution of the National
Assembly.
Maku, who appeared yesterday before the Senate Committee on
Information, Media and Public Affairs over the matter, Maku said journalists,
at a forum, “pressed” him to make a declaration for the Federal Government on
the N5,000 note.
“At a personal level, I have absolutely no reason, either
privately or in official capacity, to denigrate or disparage the integrity of
the Nigeria’s highest legislative body. More than that, I was appointed
minister by the screening and approval of the Senate. Over and above this, the
Senate has played a very constructive and serious role in the stabilisation of
our democracy. I know our democracy runs with institutions, and if the
institutions are not strong, our democracy cannot be strong,” he said.
He described parliamentary resolutions as very strong
instruments that guide the policies of the executive.
Maku said: “If my comment has been misinterpreted to mean that I
or the Federal Government does not respect the positions and resolutions of the
National Assembly, I tender my apology to the Senate. As a minister of
information, there are circumstances that are difficult for you as an
individual, and this is a difficult job for anybody in a country like Nigeria”.
The chairman of the committee, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP,
Abia South), who said Maku’s apology was accepted, however asked the executive
to be tactful in making comments.
Abaribe added that the Senate would continue to work
harmoniously with the executive.
Source: Daily Trust
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