Saraki’s election as Senate President legal – Lawyer

Recently, the NBA launched its stamp and seal policy for lawyers and its insurance policy, what is your take on this?As for the insurance, anything that is for the wellbeing of NBA members is always welcomed. Insuring the lawyer is good and it will give the lawyer and members of their family confidence that come […]

Recently, the NBA launched its stamp and seal policy for lawyers and its insurance policy, what is your take on this?
As for the insurance, anything that is for the wellbeing of NBA members is always welcomed. Insuring the lawyer is good and it will give the lawyer and members of their family confidence that come what may, the association is there for us.
The issue of stamp and seal with due respect is unnecessary. How does it check the fake lawyer? Fake lawyers can only be seen at the inferior courts – the magistrate courts. So how does the NBA stamp and seal policy rid the profession of fake lawyers? They don’t go to the High Court or other superior courts.
We can use the roll call from the Nigerian Law School but to me the policy is just a waste of time and would not serve any purpose because most fake lawyers do not operate at the higher levels as they limit themselves to the inferior courts.
In your opinion, how then can the NBA stop the fake lawyers from practice?
Most of the fake lawyers are charge and bail lawyers. NBA, through the local bar should go round and verify who is a fake lawyer.
Can you see any illegality in the emergence of Bukola Saraki as Senate president?
As far as the Citizens’ Rights Defenders and Documentation Centre is concerned, we believe that due process was followed in the election of Bukola Saraki as the President of the Senate. The rules are very clear and the laws governing the issue of inauguration of the Senate and the officers so I am surprised when some people come out to say that it is illegal or unconstitutional. I wonder where they have such laws.
Our laws say once elected, the quorum for such an exercise is the simple majority of the whole members of the Upper House and with the 109 senators the people that were present when the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President were elected were 57 which form a quorum and once a quorum is formed the business of the Senate must go on. So where is the flaw? We should not mistake the National Assembly’s business as party’s business.
There is a notice to that effect that the inauguration of the NASS will take place around 10:00 am. Those who chose to go to party caucus meeting went on a frolic and those who complied to the notice came to the House, formed a quorum and the business commenced. You cannot use a caucus meeting of a political party to abort the business of the NASS which comprises representatives of all political parties.
So the APC though in majority cannot use their own to postpone or adjourn the business of the NASS. So once you are elected a senator, though on a platform of a party, you become a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and not honorable senator of the APC. So once you enter the Senate you become one and have common interest which is the promotion of the interest of those who elected you and not to promote the interest of your political party.
President Muhammadu Buhari has been sworn in now for over two weeks, from the civil society point of view has Buhari been able to meet your expectations so far?
Some people would rather say that it is too early but they say a 1000 mile journey would start from a single step. Now for the past two weeks people expected him to have made certain decisions such as the issue of appointments. He has his campaign programmes which were already on ground before inauguration, to start giving excuses that he needs a handover note is a surprise to some of us because you have your programme since the presidential election took place on March 28, 2015 and we are in June. Immediately he won the presidential election and was pronounced elected we expected the president to have his shadow government immediately before the inauguration. Are they now searching for men to appoint as ministers? We expected them to have all these on ground because government is not all about criticism. They said that they have alternatives and for about two weeks now we don’t see the alternatives.
So what we expected from Buhari is to hit the ground running but he said that he is waiting for handover notes. Will the handover note recommend those to be appointed as ministers and aides or the Secretary to the Government of the Federation? He now started to give excuses on various issues.
Before he was sworn in 29, May, 2015 we have been having the recurring issue of fuel scarcity. Some people are of the views that come May 29, issue of fuel scarcity will be history but today after two weeks of inauguration, Buhari has not made any pronouncement on the issue of fuel scarcity. The issue of PHCN is still the same.
My advice is that Nigerians expect so much from this government, and that on the issues of insecurity, unemployment and fuel scarcity, Nigerians are still expecting so much from him also in terms of honesty.
What is your take on death penalty?
The killing of human being is an aberration, inhuman and should be abolished. It is uncivilized, there are other punishments, it is also ungodly and it has not served as deterrence.