NASS vows to challenge court ruling on Edo Assembly crisis – TheNigerialawyer

The leadership of the National Assembly and the Edo State
Government are on collision course over the crisis rocking the Edo
State House of Assembly, it emerged yesterday.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has
vowed that the leadership of the National Assembly would challenge
a Federal High Court ruling that restrained it from taking over the
legislative functions of the Edo State House of Assembly.

Gbajabiamila gave this indication in his remarks during a visit
by the Progressive Governors’ Forum to the leadership of the
National Assembly in Abuja.

Also, the Governor of Katsina State and the Chairman of the
Progressive Governors’ Forum’s subcommittee on Legislative Matters,
Aminu Bello Masari, lamented that absence of coordination has
brought distrust in the APC and it’s capable of destroying the
party.

Before the meeting went into a closed door session, Gbajabiamila
said that the leadership of the National Assembly was surprised
that it could resolve the crisis in the Bauchi State House of
Assembly “which is an opposition state” but could not resolve that
of Edo which an APC state.

He said it was surprising that the Edo State House of Assembly
has decided to “test an exclusive constitutional role of the
National Assembly in court.”

It could be recalled that both chambers of the National Assembly
had in June resolved to take over the legislative duties of the Edo
State House of Assembly following the crisis that emanated when
nine lawmakers loyal to Governor Godwin Obaseki were secretly
inaugurated by the Governor on June 17, while others were left
out.

A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had restrained the
National Assembly from interfering in the affairs of the Edo State
House of Assembly.

Justice Kolawole Omotosho had also ruled that the National
Assembly could not compel Governor Obaseki to issue another
proclamation within the lifespan of an existing proclamation for
inauguration of Edo House of Assembly.

The court gave the order when it delivered judgement in a suit
brought by Yekini Idiaye, the Deputy Speaker of the Edo State House
of Assembly, and Henry Okhuarobo, the member representing
Ikpoba-Okha State Constituency.

Omotosho had said: “There is nothing before the court to show
that the Edo State House of Assembly is unable to sit.

“Some elected members have been inaugurated. The House has been
carrying out its legislative duties.

“The National Assembly lacks the power to take over the Edo
State House of Assembly.

“It amounts to taking over the functions of the Edo State House
of Assembly.

“The House of Assembly is not an appendage of the National
Assembly.”

Reacting to the ruling, Gbajabiamila said: “While addressing the
issue of one party and one government, I and my big brother the
Senate President will want to draw our attention to the issue of
the crisis in Bauchi and Edo states.

“Whilst we were able to successfully resolve the issue in Bauchi
State, which is an opposition state, unfortunately, we are unable
to resolve that of Edo State.

“I think this is what we have to look at and prioritise. We
should consider how to constitutionally address the issue.

“For those of us on this side, the National Assembly, we are
surprised that the exclusive constitutional roles given to us as
prescribed in Section 12 of the Constitution, which is written
unambiguously clear was being tested.

“We are a bit concerned about that. Of course we have three arms
of government and on the basis of that, we will be going to court
on this matter to resolve not just the judgement but to ensure that
any other related issues like that do not come up again.

“The House of Representatives have adopted a theme, “The nation
building is a joint task”, that is how we are operating in the
National Assembly irrespective of our political party divides.

“We have resolved to come together when it comes to national
issues. We believe that since there is one government, there should
be a symbiotic relationship between the governors and the
legislators,” he said.

It was learnt that after this outburst by Gbajabiamila in the
presence of Obaseki, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan,
spent a substantial part of the closed door session in calming
frayed nerves.

The Progressive Governors’ Forum was led to the meeting by its
Chairman and Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Abubakar Bagudu.

The Governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the
meeting include Governor Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina), Chairman of
the Nigeria Governor’s Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr.
Kayode Fayemi, Mallam Nasir Elrufai (Kaduna), and Babagana Zulum
(Borno).

Others include Mohammed Yahaya (Gombe), Abdullahi Ganduje
(Kano), Sani Bello (Niger), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Abdulrahaman
Abdulrazak (Kwara) and Godwin Obaseki (Edo). The Deputy Governor of
Nasarawa State, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe, represented the Governor.

Also Monday, the Governor of Katsina State and Chairman of the
Progressive Governors’ Forum’s subcommittee on Legislative Matters,
Aminu Bello Masari, lamented that the absence of coordination has
brought distrust in the APC, capable of destroying the party.

He urged the leaders of the APC to make “amends” in the
management of political relations.

Masari said: “The Progressive Governors’ Forum has a standing
subcommittee on Legislative Matters that started in the last
Assembly. But unfortunately, no success came out for obvious
reasons.

“So we thought that we should contact you early enough so that
we put a machinery in motion in making sure that this time around,
we are on the same page – the Progressive Governors’ Forum and the
National Assembly.

“In doing so we want to use this opportunity to address some
fundamental issues that does not only affect the APC alone as a
political party but the whole nation.

“We can recall that President Muhammadu Buhari recently reminded
us of our responsibilities in providing leadership to ensure that
all of us as elected representatives which is a collective body
that should prioritize building strong relationships between all
elected representatives both in the executive and legislative arms
of government, as well as our party leaders.

“The absence of coordination has produced crisis of trust which
if care is not taken can destroy our party and the political
process.

“So as leaders, we need to make amends especially in the area of
management of political relations among all the party
stakeholders.

“We need not remind ourselves of what happened between 2015 and
2019 when we unfortunately allowed avoidable circumstances to give
new life to our political opponents, especially parties in
opposition to APC, like PDP.

“We have not managed our personal aspiration to contest
elections through the inability of our party leadership to
painstakingly ensure broad consultations leading to collective
decision that were recorded on most of these avoidable
circumstances.

“We know what happened in the build up to 2019, the crisis we
have in so many states within our own political party.

“I am referring to those crisis that could have been avoided,
recognizing that conflicting demands from all stakeholders would
not be easy to manage.

“Compliance with the provisions of our party constitution and
the relevant laws of Nigeria…..”

Masari could however not continue with his speech as he was
interrupted by the master of ceremony who announced that the rest
of the speech would be given during during the closed door
session.

In his part, Bagudu said the meeting the federal lawmakers was
to enable the Governors partake and support executive legislation
and delivery of the constitutional amendment promised
Nigerians.

Bagudu said: “We continue with the engagement with legislators,
so that we can participate and support more executive legislation,
delivery of constitutional amendments and other legislative agenda
that Nigerians have been promised.”

On his part, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, described the
meeting as a special moment for the National Assembly.

Lawan said: “This is a special moment for us. This is the first
meeting between the leadership of the National Assembly of the APC
stock and the Progressive Governors.

“It is a fact and a truism that our party, particularly our
Governors, did so well, they work so hard and assiduously to ensure
that the leadership of the National Assembly emerged with little or
no hitch in the 2019 leadership contest. We thank you for that show
of trust.

“We believe that you have done your part by giving us all the
support that we needed. The ball is now in our court to take this
leadership in trust and we intend to remain resolute, we intend to
remain very loyal to the party and the principles that we stand
for.

“We intend to remain committed and dedicated to the Nigerian
ideals of making sure that the country provides all the necessary
services to citizens especially when it comes to the area of
ensuring security, safety and welfare of citizens.

“When we emerged without any doubt, we were very bipartisan in
the way and manner our election took place. The APC provided the
platform.

“Almost all the APC members voted along the line that this time
around the party produces the leadership without any adulteration
so to speak.

“The opposition parties in the Senate especially the PDP and the
YPP have done so much to ensure that they gave us that type of
support. I want to take this opportunity to be extremely
practical.

“We have been working in a very bipartisan manner and all those
things that we felt are very necessary to achieve in the national
interest we have done so across party lines.

“I believe that this kind of partnership will continue. It is
necessary that all the levels of Government work together.

“We have certain issues that we cannot do alone at the National
Assembly when we have up to 14million children out of school in the
streets.

“We cannot do it alone. This is something the States and the
Federal Government would have to work together and partner with the
National Assembly we believe that we can do more working
together.

“We are here representing the States. All of us belong to
States. We don’t belong to just the Federal. There is need for us
to have this type of interaction more often.”

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Police Host PR Workshop for Spokespersons in
Anambra
In line with the impassioned quest of the Inspector General of
Police, IGP M.A Adamu,NPM, mni for reinventing the image of the
Force and repositioning the Police Spokespersons for optimal
performance as critical stakeholders, particularly in the
implementation of the National Community Policing Model, the
Nigeria Police Force is organizing a four-day Strategic Training
Workshop for Police Public Relations Officers across the country,
tagged “Police PROs and Effective Communication in Contemporary
Times” from 8th – 11th, October, 2019 at the Banquet Hall of the
Golden Tulip Hotel, Agulu Lake, in the beautiful and serene town of
Agulu, near Awka, Anambra State.

The Training Workshop, which will be coordinated by the Office
of the Force Public Relations Officer, will bring together all
Police Public Relations Officers from the twelve (12) Police Zonal
Commands, the thirty-six (36) States Commands, the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT), and Staff Officers of the Force Public Relations
Department.

The training module of the workshop will be delivered by
seasoned communication experts from the prestigious School of Media
and Communication of the Pan-Atlantic University, Ibeju-Lekki,
Lagos State and other top journalists and PR professionals across
the country.

The Workshop is being hosted and sponsored by the Anambra State
Government with support from other critical stakeholders and will
be declared open by His Excellency, Chief (Dr.) Willie Obiano B.Sc,
MBA, FCA, Executive Governor of Anambra State.

DCP FRANK MBA
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
FORCE HEADQUARTERS
ABUJA​