Tambuwal remains the speaker of the House, says Ozekhome

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA – Chief Mike Ozekhome, a Constitutional lawyer and human rights activist in his reaction said, “Section 68 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution as altered, merely prohibits carpet crossing or defection from the original sponsoring political party to another. Where that happens, a member of the Senate or House of Representatives is to vacate his seat.

Mike Ozekhome

“Though the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal has decamped from PDP to APC, he has not yet been pronounced upon as having lost his seat in the House. For now, it is presumptuous. Even at that, we should rise above the level of petty politics and do the right thing by not desecrating our institutions and the quintessence of our democratic culture through actions that call to question the institutions of the Nigeria Police and the National Assembly.

“Tambuwal remains the speaker of the House, at least till December 3, when the House resumes Plenary. He has not been impeached. He remains the number four (4) person in Nigeria. He therefore deserves full complement of security, not because of his person as an ordinary Nigerian, but as the Speaker of the lower House, the 4th person in order of protocol.

“If the speaker can show that his defection is as a result of a division in PDP, or that PDP has lost its identity because of its merger with another Political party, he will be excused by the proviso to Section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution. For now, the Police should immediately restore his security aids without much ado.

Also some Senators yesterday reacted to the withdrawal of security details of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal over his recent defection to the All Progressives Congress, APC, by the Inspector-General of Police, Abba Ibrahim.

As most of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senators that were contacted refused to talk, saying that it was a sensitive matter and that their comments may not go down well with the position of their party (PDP), Senators of the opposition political parties condemned the act by the IGP, describing it as an impunity taken to the highest order.

Senator Kabiru Marafa, representing Zamfara State on the platform of APC, said the action of the IGP was highly unconstitutional even as he cautioned the PDP-led federal government to handle the matter with a lot of caution.

According to Senator Marafa, “We are occupying the various offices we are occupying today, courtesy of the constitution. Whatever we do should be in conformity with the constitution and the rule of law. The action is wrong and unfortunate because mere defection does not remove him as speaker”

Senator Babafemi Ojudu, APC, Ekiti Central in his own reaction said, “The withdrawal of Tambuwal’s security details is unfair, uncivilized. How can a government order the withdrawal of the security personnel attached to the number four citizen of the country?

“Why can’t they withdraw the security of Governor Olusegun Mimiko when he defected from Labour Party to the PDP? If the government continues like this, they will kill Nigeria’s democracy. The federal Government will be held responsible if anything should happen to Tambuwal today.

“The IGP is not there to serve the interest of his party, he is there to protect all Nigerians. He should therefore in the interest of peace, restore the security details of the number four citizen of the country without further delay.”

Senator Robert Boroffice, APC, Ondo North; said, “Tambuwal remains the Speaker until he resign from office ir removed. The constitution does not say that the speaker must emerge from the majority party in the House. It only provides for the members to choose the presiding officers from among themselves.

“Withdrawing Tambuwal’s security details is an act of impunity and it is very shameful. He is the Speaker and the security personnel were attached to his office.”

Also reacting to the development, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, representing Oyo South on the Accord Party platform insisted that since Tambuwal still remained the Speaker, his security details should be restored.

Senator Lanlehin said, “The Federal Government should follow the right process. Tambuwal still reserved his rights to have access to security until he is formally removed by two-third majority.”

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Tambuwal remains the speaker of the House, says Ozekhome