DEPUTY spokesman of the House of Representatives, Honourable Victor Afam Ogene, on Wednesday, said the Speaker of the House, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday, will not resign his position.
Ogene, in a statement on Wednesday, said it was wrong for members of the public to seek to regulate the House from outside the chamber.
He also insisted that a plethora of cases had been filed on the issue of defection of members of the House, adding that the Constitution and the House rules were clear that the Speaker should not resign.
“Barely 24 hours after Honourable Tambuwal announced a switch of party allegiance from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC, several individuals, party chieftains and groups have gone on a frenzy, dishing out varied interpretations to the decision.
“In the main, many of these commentators, rather than correctly stating what the true position of the law and the House rules are, take delight in advertising ignorance of both, with some even advocating a recourse to anarchy as a way of achieving what they imagine ought to be the ‘solution’ to the issue.“The concerns among the public are, so far, narrowed to two key issues., including whether the Speaker ought to vacate his seat as representative of Kebbe/Tambuwal federal constituency, Sokoto State, by virtue of section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended; or he shouldn’t step down as Speaker, having defected from the majority party in the House to a minority platform.
“On the first issue, it is common knowledge that following the defection of 37 members of the House from PDP to APC in December 2013, there has been multiple court cases on the matter, thus rendering it subjudice to discuss any likely outcome. Everyone is thus enjoined to await final judicial pronouncement on the issue of defection, which has afflicted virtually all political parties in the land.
“Concerning calls for Mr Speaker to step down from the position to which his colleagues freely elected him on June 6, 2011, we wish to reaffirm - even with the pains of almost sounding monotonous - that the Speakership of the House of Representatives, or indeed, any other national elective position, belongs to the generality of Nigerians and not the political platforms upon which such leaders emerge.
“While the case of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who, as a sitting vice president, moved to another political party - and did not get judicial reprobation for the act - is still fresh in our memories, the clear provisions of Section 50(1)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution easily settles the worries regarding the continued Speakership of Honourable Tambuwal.
“...‘There shall be a Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.’ The above quoted portion of the constitution stipulates. It would, therefore, amount to an affront on members’ privilege to question their constitutionally-guarantee
“Additionally, Order 1, Rule 1(2) of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives states: ‘In all cases not provided for hereinafter, or by sectional or other orders, precedents or practices of the House, the House shall by resolution regulate its procedure’.
“It is in the light of the foregoing that the House wishes to appeal to those who seek to ‘regulate its procedure’ from outside its hallowed chambers to have a rethink, as the nation’s constitution, the standing orders of the House and precedent - as in the Speakership of the late Honourable Edwin Ume-Ezeoke in the Second Republic on a minority platform - have all provided answers to what would have otherwise been a knotty political issue,” Ogene said.
Source: Tribune
Ogene, in a statement on Wednesday, said it was wrong for members of the public to seek to regulate the House from outside the chamber.
He also insisted that a plethora of cases had been filed on the issue of defection of members of the House, adding that the Constitution and the House rules were clear that the Speaker should not resign.
“Barely 24 hours after Honourable Tambuwal announced a switch of party allegiance from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC, several individuals, party chieftains and groups have gone on a frenzy, dishing out varied interpretations to the decision.
“In the main, many of these commentators, rather than correctly stating what the true position of the law and the House rules are, take delight in advertising ignorance of both, with some even advocating a recourse to anarchy as a way of achieving what they imagine ought to be the ‘solution’ to the issue.“The concerns among the public are, so far, narrowed to two key issues., including whether the Speaker ought to vacate his seat as representative of Kebbe/Tambuwal federal constituency, Sokoto State, by virtue of section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended; or he shouldn’t step down as Speaker, having defected from the majority party in the House to a minority platform.
“On the first issue, it is common knowledge that following the defection of 37 members of the House from PDP to APC in December 2013, there has been multiple court cases on the matter, thus rendering it subjudice to discuss any likely outcome. Everyone is thus enjoined to await final judicial pronouncement on the issue of defection, which has afflicted virtually all political parties in the land.
“Concerning calls for Mr Speaker to step down from the position to which his colleagues freely elected him on June 6, 2011, we wish to reaffirm - even with the pains of almost sounding monotonous - that the Speakership of the House of Representatives, or indeed, any other national elective position, belongs to the generality of Nigerians and not the political platforms upon which such leaders emerge.
“While the case of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who, as a sitting vice president, moved to another political party - and did not get judicial reprobation for the act - is still fresh in our memories, the clear provisions of Section 50(1)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution easily settles the worries regarding the continued Speakership of Honourable Tambuwal.
“...‘There shall be a Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.’ The above quoted portion of the constitution stipulates. It would, therefore, amount to an affront on members’ privilege to question their constitutionally-guarantee
“Additionally, Order 1, Rule 1(2) of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives states: ‘In all cases not provided for hereinafter, or by sectional or other orders, precedents or practices of the House, the House shall by resolution regulate its procedure’.
“It is in the light of the foregoing that the House wishes to appeal to those who seek to ‘regulate its procedure’ from outside its hallowed chambers to have a rethink, as the nation’s constitution, the standing orders of the House and precedent - as in the Speakership of the late Honourable Edwin Ume-Ezeoke in the Second Republic on a minority platform - have all provided answers to what would have otherwise been a knotty political issue,” Ogene said.
Source: Tribune
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