House of Assemblies not independent of executive – Falana

A Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has said that House of Assemblies are not independent of the executive.

Falana stated this while commenting on differences between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and some members of the state House of Assembly.

On Monday 27 members of the state House of Assembly loyal to former Governor Nyesom Wike defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

But during the interview Falana said some external forces wanted to control the state, saying the lawmakers lost their seats by defecting to the APC.

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Falana said, “It bothers every Nigerian that House of Assemblies are not independent of the executive even at the national level. In the third republic, you could predict what the PRP and the Unity Party of Nigeria would vote for. But Today there is no any form of ideological difference between legislatures. Policies are passed without any serious debate.

“Any time lawmakers are asked to screen nominees of the president or a governor, they simply ask them to take a bow, which makes a mockery of the constitution. What the constitution said is that you should screen those appointed by the president, it is an opportunity for you to examine their CVs to find out whether they are fit for the position. But you ask an appointee to take a bow, it simply becomes an automatic appointment.”