Skip to main content

Groups warn against granting emergency powers to Buhari

An Igbo socio-political group, Igboekulie and a civil society organisation based in Anambra State, International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law, Intersociety, have described the reported plan by President Muhammadu Buhari, to seek legislative approval for a wide range of presidential powers to revive the Nigerian economy as unnecessary, saying that he has enough executive powers so far under the constitution to move the country’s economy forward if he so desired.
President Buhari
 
 
Intersociety in a statement, yesterday, by its Chairman, Mr Emeka Umeagbalasi, said: “Buhari’s administration has since September 2015 castrated the 1999 Constitution and illegally arrogated sweeping extra constitutional powers to itself in the governance of the country; upon which it now seeks for legislative legitimization through retroactive legislation or legislative cementation by way of executive sponsored bill. “For the purpose of putting the records straight, we have critically and clinically studied all reasons and arguments made by the presidency upon which it is seeking for “emergency presidential powers,” whether for economic reasons or otherwise and have come to the empirical conclusion that the reasons and arguments are dictatorial, tyrannical, undemocratic and grossly unconstitutional. Whatever bedevils Nigeria governance wise under the Buhari administration, is self invited and does not require the so called ’emergency presidential powers’ as a solution. “There are a lot of laws on public economic management in Nigeria begging for executive attention. Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution is enough to take care of emergencies in Nigeria. Any emergency power so granted Mr. President, be it for ’emergency economic intervention’ or under any other guise will expressly conflict with the 1999 Constitution, which amounts to anarchy and lawlessness.”
 
In its reaction, Igboekulie described the reported plan by President Muhammadu Buhari to seek legislative approval for a wide range of presidential powers to revive the Nigerian economy as unnecessary. A statement yesterday by the President of the group, Prince Ben Onuora, Igboekulie applauded the success so far recorded in the determined fight against corruption and Boko Haram, saying, however, that government did not achieve that with emergency powers and as such does not need any to revamp the nation’s ailing economy.
 
The group said that what is needed is to change the way things are done, not necessarily our rules, adding that the President has shown requisite will and zeal in the fight against corruption and Boko Haram. The statement read:  “He needs to replicate this capacity for the economy without any special powers. His existing powers are enough to get the job done within the ambit of due process and efficiency. We cannot continue to invoke ad hoc solutions to perennial national challenges. That is why we have remained where we should not be as a nation, despite our individual talents and endowments".


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Omagbemi frees Angels, Queens for Fed Cup final

Super Falcons’ Head Coach, Florence Omagbemi, has elected to release players of Rivers Angels and Bayelsa Queens in the Senior Women National Team camp for Sunday’s potentially explosive women Federation Cup final between both teams in Lagos. Omagbemi The member of FIFA Technical Study said the ladies would be allowed to leave the team’s camp in Abuja to travel to Lagos for the big clash, which starts at 1pm at the Teslim Balogun Stadium on Sunday. That decision has freed Angels’ half dozen of goalkeeper Ibubeleye Whyte, defenders Osinachi Ohale, Ugo Njoku and Gladys Akpa and midfielders Chioma Wogu and Glory Iroka to be part of the glamour event, to be attended by the Governors of Lagos, Anambra, Nasarawa, Bayelsa and Rivers States. Bayelsa Queens’ duo of goalkeeper Alaba Jonathan and playmaker Osarenoma Igbinovia will also be on duty. The involvement of the Super Falcons’ stars will certainly boost the quality of the final match, and ensure the two teams do not miss their Falco...
Post a Comment
Read more

Supreme Court doesn’t need 21 justices – CJN

The acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, has said appointing more judges or increasing the number of courtrooms are not the solutions to the problem of delayed justice dispensation in the country. The acting CJN said the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court would  remain congested so long as the number of appeals proceeding there from the high courts was not regulated. Justice Onnoghen also argued that it was erroneous to believe that delay at the Supreme Court was as a result of not having up to 21 Justices prescribed by the constitution. He noted hat even the United States of America, with a higher population, had only nine Supreme Court Justices. He argued that the current 17 Justices on the Supreme Court bench were just enough for the country, if the number of appeals proceeding to the appellate and apex courts was regulated. Justice Onnoghen made this argument on Monday in Lagos while inaugurating the newly refurbished building of the Lagos Division o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Trump ex-aide Paul Manafort 'offered to help Putin'

US President Donald Trump's one-time campaign chairman secretly worked for a Russian billionaire to assist President Vladimir Putin, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reports. Paul Manafort is said to have proposed a strategy to nullify anti-Russian opposition across former Soviet republics a decade ago. AP says documents and interviews support its claims about Mr Manafort. Mr Manafort has insisted that he never worked for Russian interests. He worked as Mr Trump's unpaid campaign chairman from March until August last year, including the period during which the flamboyant New York billionaire clinched the Republican nomination. He resigned after AP revealed that he had co-ordinated a secret Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine's ruling pro-Russian political party until 2014. Newly obtained business records link Mr Manafort more directly to Mr Putin's interests in the region, AP says. Donald Trump unpaid Campaign Chairman It ...
Post a Comment
Read more