Senator Victor Umeh, representing Anambra Central, has attributed what he described as the failure of the 10th National Assembly to effectively discharge its responsibilities to the manner in which its leadership emerged.
Umeh said the National Assembly began under a “very peculiar situation” in which President Bola Tinubu openly endorsed the leadership of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, the senator said some lawmakers opposed the president’s direct involvement in choosing the legislature’s leadership, arguing that the National Assembly should have elected its leaders independently.
According to him, lawmakers who held that view were harassed on television and other platforms, but eventually accepted the outcome after the endorsed candidates won the leadership elections.
He said the Senate President and Speaker, having been openly supported by the executive arm of government, emerged through a process that made it difficult for the legislature to operate independently.
He said: “You see, 10th National Assembly started with very peculiar situation where the President openly chose the leadership for the National Assembly. You saw it happen.
“Some of us who believed that the president didn’t need to come openly to say who the leaders will be. You know, we were harassed, both on televisions and all that, and we waited.
“So there was no way he would have been expecting a different situation where the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives were openly supported by the president, the leader of the executive. We accepted it because it happened. The votings were done and they won.
“So having won, we have to work with the situation. We have met and of course, know that it would not be the same if we had elected our leadership on our own.
“I’m not begrudging anybody who became what or the other in the leadership. But what has happened is that in terms of practical discharge of responsibilities by the National Assembly, we have not been able to do so because of this situation, and those of us who are from the opposition parties, I also believed that for sanity and for the good of the Nigerian people, let’s support the executive arm of government so that it will put in its best.”
Rubber stamp: Why Akpabio’s Senate, House of Rep failed to discharge responsibilities — Senator Umeh
Source: Rubber stamp: Why Akpabio’s Senate, House of Rep failed to discharge responsibilities — Senator Umeh
