The National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has waded in on developments in the Edo State House of Assembly, blaming the state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki for what he called his “perverse” actions.
In a statement last night, Tinubu said the blocking of the legislative house to prevent the inauguration of the two-third lawmakers of the APC was a mockery of the constitution.
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He argued that “Governor Obaseki’s conduct in the past year is undoubtedly impeachable”, adding that “these legislators have made no threat to impeach the Governor. Their only desire is to peacefully perform the duties asked of them by the constituents who elected them”
According to him, “By his refusal to permit duly elected members of the Edo State House of Assembly to perform their constitutional duties, Governor Obaseki betrayed contempt for the people of his state and, unfortunately, his ignorance of Nigeria’s constitutional order.”
He stated that as a Governor, Obaseki “ought to know better than to obstruct the functioning of his own legislature, but perhaps he is in need of a quick lesson.”
Daily Trust reports that Edo State has been engulfed in crisis over the September 2020 governorship election with two speakers laying claim to the leadership of the House.
Tinubu however faulted the continued closure of the Assembly, saying it impinges on the constitution.
He said: “The legislative function is, perhaps, the most foundational obligation of any government. In the UK, the Parliament was famously said to be “that supreme and absolute power, which gives life and motion to the English government”.
“In most democratic systems, the legislature is the arm of government containing within itself the people’s representatives in government. As such, the legislative arm is critical. It is an important symbol of democratic governance. The voice, will and desires of the people are reposed in their elected representatives sent to the legislature to express and distil their amorphous will into the laws and codes by which the society has agreed to live.
“In the context of a constitutional democracy such as ours, the legislature’s authority stems, in effect, from the recognition that it is the authentic mouthpiece of the people, entrusted with the responsibility of representing their collective will and the power to interpret and mould it into the laws of the land. It is, in short, not to be toyed with as a plaything of an errant and ill-disciplined governor. Undermine the legislature and you imperil democracy and allow governance to descend into anarchy.
“Indeed, it is no coincidence that of the three arms of government, the powers of the legislature are enumerated first, in our Constitution.
“The legislature is the authority imbued with the power to make laws for the peace, order and good governance of the federation and states. Indeed, the Constitution makes clear that a Governor’s role primarily extends to the maintenance and implementation of the laws set down for him by his state’s legislature.”
He described Obaseki’s governance of Edo State as being the worst excesses of our military past and represents a direct threat to the democratic order.
“By his refusal to permit duly elected members of the Edo State House of Assembly to perform their constitutional duties, Governor Obaseki betrayed contempt for the people of his state and, unfortunately, his ignorance of Nigeria’s constitutional order. As a Governor he ought to know better than to obstruct the functioning of his own legislature, but perhaps he is in need of a quick lesson,” he added.
