Tambuwal accuses executive of using judiciary to encroach on legislative powers

Addressing lawmakers yesterday at plenary as part of the 7th House third anniversary, Tambuwal said by going to courts to stop the lawmakers from probing some ministers, the executive failed to abide by the constitutional provision of checks and balances.He said such action was not only unconstitutional but smacked of double standard and “a slap […]

Addressing lawmakers yesterday at plenary as part of the 7th House third anniversary, Tambuwal said by going to courts to stop the lawmakers from probing some ministers, the executive failed to abide by the constitutional provision of checks and balances.
He said such action was not only unconstitutional but smacked of double standard and “a slap on the principle of separation of powers”.
“During the session, we witnessed the dawn of a disturbing trend whereby people now go to court to stop the National Assembly from exercising its constitutional mandate and conducting its internal operations. This is unheard of in jurisdictions where genuine democracy is practised and venerated.
“It is neither usual nor appropriate for the judiciary to be used pre-emptively to stop the legislature from acting in the first place,” he said.
Speaker Tambuwal also berated the FCT Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbu for banning public protests on the abducted Chibok schoolgirls without getting clearance from his superiors. He also decried the rising impunity and corruption among public officials in the country.
“Strangely, the collective experience of our members in the course of their exercise of their oversight functions is that there is a growing culture of impunity on the part of public officers in Nigeria which makes them inclined to resist the ethos of accountability,” he added.
He warned that the House would not be “a rubberstamp” of the executive arm, saying “Only recently, a certain government spokesman was quoted as claiming that the National Assembly ‘distorted’ the 2014 budget.