Deji Olunlade: The Speaker of the House of Reps in the APC is good for democracy

by Deji Olunlade

In response to an article written by Abdul Ajia [READ HERE], I differ on certain assertions by the writer stating that there might be a possibility of a hung parliament simply because the current Speaker of the House of Representatives  is now a card-carrying member of the APC,  a party in the minority in the House of Representatives, and that such might have a direct link to the economy of the country. I believe this is a far-fetched argument which serves no useful purpose as I fail to see or decipher a direct link with the constitutional activities of the Speaker and that of the House in general which will lead to a decline in the economy of the country.

This assertion is wrong on all grounds as it is evident that regardless of the party in the majority, the members of the House of Representatives  were elected solely to represent the interest of the members of the general public and not that of a political party and this is what is obtainable in most decent democracies world over.  While it is indeed true that the office of the Speaker in Nigeria has been reflected to be partisan, this is actually a derogation from well-established norm. It  is fundamental that that the Speaker is in a leadership position and must use his position to advance common interests to the benefit of the citizens of Nigeria regardless of party affiliations.

Suggesting that the Honourable Speaker of the House must resign as observed in  different statements by the Peoples Democratic Party, commentators and that of Abdul Ajia is totally mischievous and this can be seen in the voting pattern that has been stipulated by the 1999 Constitution as amended in Sections 56 (1) and (2)which simply states that the “…any question proposed for decision in the…House of Representatives shall be determined by the required majority of the members present and voting; and the person presiding shall cast a vote whenever necessary to avoid an equality of votes but shall not vote in any other case”, Sub-section (2) also goes further to state that “…the required majority for the purpose of determining any question shall be simple majority”.  The Speaker of the House does not have over-riding authority in the pattern of voting and cannot impose his will on the members of the legislature if that does not reflect their intention.

Therefore, it is only self-serving to suggest that the Speaker should resign to avoid the possibilities of a hung parliament as the position of the Speaker,  while seemingly powerful and sometimes influential, it has not robbed the PDP of a comfortable majority in parliament and in decision making. This development as it is should actually be seen as the beauty of democracy wherein a proper check on the dominant party may be appropriately put in perspective. Moreso, the PDP  should not have reasons to fret since elections are not far away and by then they can effect the necessary changes they desire in the House consequent upon scoring majority seats in Parliament again.

Furthermore, it is not factually correct that in advanced democracies, the speakers must be elected from the majority or the party in power, the famous cases of Tip O’Neill, who was a vocal opponent of President Ronald Reagan’s economic and defence policies; Newt Gingrich, who fought a bitter battle with President Bill Clinton for control of domestic policy; Nancy Pelosi, who clashed with President George W. Bush over the Iraq War and current Speaker John Boehner, who clashes with President Barack Obama over budget issues and health care. The economy of the United States has not suffered a backward trend based on party affiliations, it only tends to encourage robust debates and negotiations leading up to balanced economic policies and development.

On the submission that a power sharing arrangement between the two parties be entered into, where the PDP retains the position of the Speaker and the APC that of the deputy,  this will be a political suicide not just for Aminu Tambuwal but also for the All Progressive Congress since it is a known fact that politicians, especially, in Nigeria hardly adhere by political arrangements freely entered into. In fact, the emergence of Tambuwal against the party’s choice of Mulikat Akande lends credence to this position. You may be goaded into making the decision but, thereafter, you are left to lick your wounds. Besides, the constitution does not recognize this sort of arrangement being proposed by the author since as rightly stated by the All Progressive Congress, the constitution only and clearly states that a speaker and deputy speaker of the House of Representatives shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.

Section 50 (1) (b) of the Constitution cannot be clearer than it is, it does not even admit of any form of legal manipulation or interpretation. To hold otherwise will only lead to a travesty of justice which in itself may subject our young democracy to illegitimate interruption of governance and ridicule.

Finally, the emergence of the Speaker of the House from the party in the minority is s welcome development which I believe every true Nigerian should support. It is really time where we begin to jettison unnecessary adherence to political affiliations in the interest of the majority of Nigerians, let us all forget the market noise associated with Tambuwal’s association with the APC and move on with the important task of nation-building.

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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