The Senate and House of Representatives are expected to get 2/3 majority of members of each chamber to approve the state of emergency declared in Rivers State by President Tinubu. If any of the two chambers fail to get 2/3 majority of members present to vote yes the law will fail and the Governor/Deputy and Legislators will return to office and continue their political fight or reconcile for the sake of common folks.
The least the presiding officers should do is a roll call and give us recorded votes for each member instead of voice vote to pass or reject the proposed legislation. This should enable Nigerians know how each senator voted, for the sake of posterity and in the interest of deepening democracy in Nigeria. If they don’t have time or capacity to do a roll call and record each vote the next best thing will be to have a rising vote so we can see who votes for and against. They can also raise their hands with cameras showing them fully.
People should take responsibility.
No voice vote or secret vote please. Let’s know where everyone stands as this is possibly the most important vote this National Assembly session will take. Could literally strengthen or further weaken our democracy immensely.
It will also help the process if the presiding officers separate the proposed legislation into two portions:
I. Support for state of emergency in Rivers State
II. Removal of elected Governor/Deputy and Legislators
I suspect strongly that an independent National Assembly will readily approve the first and likely reject the second. But we will never know the reality with this voice vote nonsense where the presiding officer only need to say “the ayes have it”.
If the two proposals by the President, as separated above, scale through then the National Assembly has legalized whatever illegality and we have to live with a President removing elected Governors/Deputies for many years to come.
Consequently too, Governors can now remove LGA Chairmen at will by merely declaring an emergency within their domains and then use the usually rubber-stamp state house of assembly to legalize it.
Those who feel strongly about not allowing the removal of the Governor and the legislators should now call their legislative representatives in Abuja instead of coming to social media to rant and bully those who do not agree with them. Either you call and persuade or accept the outcome of the vote. If your legislators support the position of the President then nothing more could be done or said and that should be the end of discussion regardless of how you feel. It is all about majority having their way while the minority have only their say and not about the perfect and the universally accepted.
Good morning.
-John Okiyi Kalu is a former Commissioner of Information in Abia
