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- Legislature under my watch will not be rubberstamp, says Lawan
A former Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba has cautioned against imposition of leadership on the Ninth National Assembly, saying foisting leaders on the nation’s legislature will erode stability and unity in both chambers.
Ndoma-Egba, who stated this yesterday in Calabar, Cross River State during a media briefing, said, “It is a bit tricky getting the contest going on now for the leadership within any paradigm.
“But I would say is that when you look at the National Assembly from 1999 till date, whenever a leadership appears to have been foisted on the legislative arm of government from outside, it creates instability. The converse has also been the case.
“The moment they believe that a leadership is homegrown and internally generated, there is stability. Whichever way the party in power approaches it, it must ensure that it does not foist leadership on the National Assembly.”
He advised that the ruling party must approach the leadership issue in such a manner that the National Assembly itself takes over its thinking on the leadership, own the thinking and drive the process as an internally generated process.
The Senator stressed that if it appears that the leadership is being foisted on the lawmaking boies, then the nation has lost it, insisting: “Instability will be the consequence.”
Ndoma-Egba, who is the immediate past Chairman of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) pointed out that picking the leadership of the National Assembly is all about politics.
“The first thing is that there is no law that says the majority or ruling party must produce the leadership of the National Assembly. It is only when it comes to Senate leader and House leader that the House rules say it must come from the party with the majority.
“Members of the National Assembly can decide that they want a Senate President from a party with one member. It is their right and entitlement. Nothing stops them. It is all politics,” he added.
Meanwhile, APC’s anointed candidate for the Senate presidency, Ahmed Lawan yesterday faulted the notion that the National Assembly would accede to demands of the executive without scrutiny.
Speaking to reporters in Abuja, he assured that he would do the bidding of majority senators on any issue brought before the upper legislative chamber for consideration.
Lawan, who is presently the Senate Leader, reaffirmed his loyalty to APC and President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, adding he would leave no stone unturned to ensure a cordial relationship between the executive and the legislative arm in the interest of the country.
“My support for the President should not be misconstrued to mean making National Assembly a rubberstamp of the executive. I supported previous administrations headed by PDP on issues that I felt were of national interest just as I strongly opposed issues that should not be supported.
