The Forum also urged that the members-elect should entirely be left alone to decide who their leaders will be because they have their very clear rules, and how nominations for those who are interested would come.
This is coming as the ruling All Progressives Congress and President Bola Tinubu have already indicated who they want as both the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Recall, President Tinubu has proposed Senator Godswill Akpabio from the South-South region of the country as the Senate President, and Tajjudeen Abbas from the North-West region as Speaker; which many party members went against.
The NEF made its position known at a media chat with journalists on Saturday in Abuja.
Speaking the forum’s chairman Prof. Ango Abdullahi, said that the leadership of the NASS should be the sole responsibility of members-elect to choose whoever they want as stipulated by Nigeria’s constitution.
While expressing concern about imposing any member-elect as either the Senate President or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, noted that a similar scenario played out during the administration of former President Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (read.), where there was a lot of interference.
Abdullahi noted, “This is an honest advice to those in the position of responsibility to avoid a situation perhaps to run into saying something has been imposed. We experienced this in the past; there was a lot of interference.
“As far as we know and in our various discussions at the level of the society particularly at our level in the Northern Elders Forum. To emphasise this point, the constitution should be strictly adhered to by all concerned, meaning that the National Assembly is expected after a declaration to decide who will be the President of the Senate and other various appendages who will go with them.
“The National Assembly is an autonomous body that is supposed to decide not just its leadership but its mode of operation, as long as it is within the larger frame of the constitution of this country.
“Our constitution provides for three autonomous branches of government, not that they should not work together, but they work together so that they serve as some kind of oversight check depending on what is happening in other branches of government. So the constitution is very clear about the separation of power within the executive arm, the legislative arm, and the judiciary.”
“I remember Saraki sitting in the chambers today as President of the Senate, and he is in court tomorrow, for whatever reasons. Up till now, we have not been able to understand why this has happened. But why it had happened was because there had been interference in the manner in which the National Assembly was not allowed to freely and truly choose its leaders. And I hope this will not happen this time,” he stated.
The chairman further remarked that the forum is very concerned about the well-being of the country in every respect, including economic and social security, among others, “which is why, from time to time, when issues arise, views are given, even where they are not sought in the interest of the country.”
While also recalling the experiences of the aftermath of the February 25, 2023 presidential election, the elder statesman observed that the election process was not quite completed because there are candidates in the democracy who are not satisfied with the outcome of the election, and the constitution of the country provides ample opportunities for persons who feel dissatisfied to approach the legal system for interpretation and for resolution of their contentions as to where somebody else has gone wrong and right.
He stated, “The entire election process, I will say, is still not quite complete because some candidates were in court to challenge the election based on facts they were hopeful to present to the tribunals.
“Right now we are at a point when the National Assembly is supposed to have leaders and the leadership of the two chambers, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Each chamber, even within the context of the National Assembly, is also independent in deciding how this should be done. But the bottom line, the basic foundation, is the constitution of the country, which stipulates that there will be such and such institution, and that is how this institution will be formed and how the institution is supposed to provide its leadership.
“So, if we are going, to be honest in advising people who care about this country, the NASS members-elect should be left entirely alone to decide who their leaders will be in the process that the various chambers have themselves decided, they have very clear rules, how nominations for those who are interested would come.”
He maintained that the large number of members-elect from the APC does not worry him, but rather that each member, whether he comes from a small party or a big party, should be able to say he is interested in becoming the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“It is the process that is already stipulated to determine whether this man, who comes from a small party, is elected by his colleagues. So, the issue is not whether this is the ruling party, or this is a majority party, which is a course for the members-elect to determine who their leaders will be through the process that has been agreed by them in their chambers.”
While expressing delight, he said that, according to unconfirmed sources, the President said that he is ready to work on running the affairs of this country with anybody that is presented by the NASS.
He commended and congratulated the President for accepting that the NASS is an independent body, and that whatever they decide in terms of their leadership will eventually work with the executive, appealing to leaders, friends, associates, parties, and the government that the NASS should be free to be the kind of democracy the country requires.
