ANALYSIS: 2019 Buhari, NASS on collision course?

There has been rocky relationship between the National Assembly and the President Muhammadu Buhari- led executive and by extension the All Progressives Congress (APC).Expectations were that the two arms of government which took off on a bad footing after the 2015 elections would have found a middle course, however, almost three years into the life of the administration the relationship remains frosty. TOPE SUNDAY, EREL TABIOWO; ABDULRAHMAN ZAKARIYAU and JOSHUA EGBODO, look at the latest standoff between the two arms and the ruling APC, as the general elections draw nearer.

Birth of the Tinubu committee
Barely one year to the 2019 general elections, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed the two-term Governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to settle pockets of high-profile and deep-rooted conflicts plaguing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
As the Tinubu committee settled down for work, the crisis rocking the party shortly after it clinched power in 2015 remains unabated as some party leaders are still locked in one crisis or the other.

Also, some state chapters of the ruling party continue to battling with internal crisis, which may spell doom for the party in the next election if not nipped in the bud.

The most pronounced crack within the party, according to political pundits, is the frosty relationship between the presidency and the National Assembly (NASS), where the APC has majority of the members in both chambers.

The genesis
The genesis of the feud between the executive and NASS could be traced to the election of principle officers in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The emergence of the leadership of the Senate and the Reps, contrary to desire of the presidency and the APC, was seen as an act of disloyalty on the part of the beneficiaries.

The Bukola Saraki-led Senate and the Hon Yakubu Dogara-led Reps have since have been locked in a frosty relationship. The first face-off was the refusal of the senate to confirm the appointment of Mr Ibrahim Magu as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as well as to pass the 2017 budget.

In the case of the crisis over 2017 budget, the Presidency complained that the appropriation bill submitted to the NASS for consideration and approval had been significantly altered in several respects.

Specifically, the acting President, Professor Oshinbajo, when the face-off began, publicly expressed his concerns that some of the critical items on capital expenditure on infrastructure had been deleted, or reduced, and replaced by items that are not really of any national significance, such as local boreholes and health clinics.

Also, in the case of Magu’s rejection by the Senate as the Chairman of the EFCC, the acting President had said that the federal government will not change its mind about Mr. Magu’s nomination and that, despite his rejection by the Senate, he will continue in office in an acting capacity. This is as the NASS also vowed not to screen any nominee forwarded to both chambers by the Presidency.

Notwithstanding the Tinubu reconciliation committee the feud appears to have deepened with President Buhari declining assent to two bills passed by NASS: The Peace Corps bill and The Electoral Act Amendment Bill. The feud appears to have taken a different dimension with the president’s refusal as both chambers are said to have commenced the process of over-riding the President.

Also, in February this year, the president refused to assent to: The Police Procurement Fund (Establishment) Bill 2017), Chartered Institute of Public Management of Nigeria Bill, 2017, and the Nigerian Council of Social Work (Establishment) Bill 2017.

Now, with President Buhari’s stance, a battle line has, reportedly, been drawn between the Presidency and the Senate.

Senate to override Buhari
The latest action of the president is raising dust as some members of the National Assembly are reportedly spurring for war with the president. But some political analysts are of the view that there are more to the refusal of the president to assent the two bills than meeting the eye.
Commenting on the president’s action, Senate Spokesman, Sabi Abdullahi, APC, Niger North, gave a clue to the intention of the Senate to override his veto on the bill. He said: “The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides for what should be done if a bill has been passed by the National Assembly, transmitted to the President for assent and he fails to do that. I think that was what was done on the issue of the NDDC Bill for example.

“So, in this case, as much as many of us are aligned to the need to have the Peace Corps and we believe that it will add another layer to our security system, then it should be allowed.”

However, on the rejection of the Electoral Act Amendment bill, he was not categorical about the senate’s position.
Similarly, another lawmaker, who spoke to Blueprint Weekend on condition of anonymity said: “It is normal to have disagreement between the executive and legislature. What has caused these disagreements is as a result of differing positions on national matters. But then, the meeting between the APC caucus of the Senate which held on Wednesday is meant to address all differences so as to bring mutual agreement between the National Assembly and the Executive arm of government.”

Speaking on the prospects of President Buhari’s re-election bid in 2019, the lawmaker said: “Anyone who is a keen observer need not be told that the President has an ambition to seek re- election in 2019. He will seek re-election and his chances of winning are quite high, because he remains the candidate to beat any day, anytime.”

PDP backs NASS on bill
Curiously, the major opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), backed NASS on the bill, alleging that the APC-led federal government rejected the re-ordered sequence of election because of their plan to rig the 2019 general elections.

Speaking with Blueprint Weekend, PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, said the Senators and Members House of Representatives were elected by Nigerians to make laws for the entire Nigerians.

According to him, “ The Presidency and the APC is trying to gang up the National Assembly from exercising their constitution. We urge them to do them to do the needful in the interest of Nigeria.

He said the National Assembly should be allowed to carry out its statutory duties of amending and making laws which includes the Electoral Act.
The chairman assured that the PDP was ready to obey any law passed by the legislature and that the party was ready for victory no matter the sequence of election.

APC lawmakers sabotaging president’s effort?
Senator Abdullahi Adamu, APC Nasarawa, had accused some members of his party in the Senate of sabotaging the President.
According to him, “I believe we need to retrace our steps and reconsider our stand as legislators on matters of public interest.

Our party, APC, has the majority in both chambers of the National Assembly, yet we hold the Executive prisoner of politics that are unhealthy for the polity. It is such a terrible irony that we sabotage our own government by refusing to do our part in support of the Executive.

“Appointments requiring Senate approval are held up. The consequence is that the public has nicknamed the President and his administration go-slow. The people gave us the mandate as a party to deliver.”

The two-time governor of Nasarawa state was, however, accused of plotting to destabilise the Senate and remove Senate President, an allegation which appears to have curbed his ‘excesses.’

However, statement by a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Johnson Agbonayinma, representing Egor/Ikpoba-Okah Federal Constituency of Edo state, on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill appear to confirm Senator Adamu’s claims.

Agbonayinma, is at risk of being suspended and has been referred to face the Reps Ethics and Privileges Committee for saying the House did not follow due process in passing the bill, hence justifying the president’s refusal to assent to the bill.

Also, speaking on the relationship between the executive and NASS, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Rules and Business, Hon Emmanuel Orker-Jev, said contrary to insinuations, NASS is not a “rubber stamp’’ or extension of the Executive.

He said that the legislature “does not take instructions or guidance from the executive on any issue, including consideration of annual budget.’’
Orker-Jev told journalists in Abuja on Friday that the delay in the passage of the 2018 Appropriation Bill was because the National assembly insisted on proper scrutiny of the proposal.

He said that Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) had refused to go before relevant committees of both chambers of the assembly to defend what they put in the budget.

Orker-Jev said the NASS is ready to play its role but the fate of the 2018 Budget is in the hands of the MDAs, however, while some MDAs had defended their proposals others had not, adding that the executive was aware that it had not played its role to facilitate approval of the budget.
He said, “If people get to understand the work of the national assembly, they will be more appreciative. A lot of effort is put into scrutinizing everything that is put forward. You see some items keep coming up in the budget every year.’

According to him, “If the budget is not defended, the responsibility that the NASS is allocated in Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution will not be discharged.

“The parliament passed the National Assembly Budget Research Office (NABRO) Bill. The idea behind that law was that among other things, the legislators will interface with the executive so that by the time the budget comes to the National Assembly, there will be understanding on both sides of the bargain.

“Therefore, no much time will be taken at arriving at a conclusion. The presidency for some reasons returned that NABRO bill so we are back to square one, where we will have to wait for the executive to take all the time to prepare the budget and present it. I think when the structure of this whole budget thing is put in a better shape we will begin to talk of passing it in time.”

Herculean task before Tinubu’s committee
The face-off between the Presidency, the Senate and the possible suspension of Senator Adamu, and Hon. Agbonayinma, are making the task ahead of Tinubu more tasking.

Similarly, if the Senate moves to override the President’s vetoes on the two bills, it will worsen the crisis within the party. A situation some political observers have termed as ‘a war of ego.’

Some people have also opined that the development could culminate in the ousting of either the senate president or President Buhari, just as they have cautioned that it may spell doom for the reconciliatory processes being led by the two-time governor of Lagos state.
As events unfold, expectation is that the leadership of ruling party and the reconciliation committee would fast the process in order to set the party on a path for victory ahead of the 2019 general elections.

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