Reuben Abati
Why did President Goodluck Jonathan not honour the House of Representatives invitation for interaction on the security situation in the country?
It is because he was not “formally invited, his spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati said yesterday.
Abati said the President is not averse to the invitation if it is properly channelled.
Abati spoke on a RayPower 100.5FM phone-in programme; Fact File, monitored by our correspondent.
He also commented on why the President has not assented to some bills passed by the National Assembly and sent to his office.
Abati said some of the bills when signed into law, would create additional bureaucracy leading to over-bloated governance that the Federal Government is trying to rationalise.
He cited the National Health Bill and the Biodiversity Bill as some of those bills.
Abati said: “The President does not have any problem with the invitation by the House of Representatives. But there should be a formal letter inviting him to come and address them on the floor of the House. Something will be said on the floor of the assembly and once the President does not have a formal letter inviting him, the President cannot, on the basis of newspapers report say he has been invited.
“I am very sure that when there is a formal invitation from the National Assembly, the President will honour it. In any case, the National Assembly is dominated by members of the President’s party.
“Mr. President often invites members of the parliament to hold meetings with him in the Villa and they honour the invitation. So, when they invite him formally, he will go especially since the issues are of mutual interest to both arms of government and of interest to Nigerians. It is a procedural thing when the lawmakers ask the President to come and address them. You will remember that every year, he addresses them when presenting the Appropriation Bill. Whenever the President goes to event in the ruling party, he briefs them. When he does Presidential Media Chat, he gives reports to Nigerians. On a daily basis, we report the activities of government online, through newspapers and other possible medium to show that this is a Presidency that is transparent and has nothing to hide. His true mandate is to serve Nigerians. It is not that the President is avoiding the legislature; it is not that the President does not want to go to the National Assembly. Both bodies work together.
“Enshrining the State of the Nation Address into the Constitution is not a problem, what they are asking for is accountability. If there is a law like that, it makes it mandatory for the President to come to the parliament from time to time to give account, that is the law. It is the duty of the President to protect the rule of law and this President has shown in many instances that he respects the rule of law. Even with the just-concluded Edo election, the success was made possible by the President. Governor Adams Oshiomhole of the Action Congress of Nigeria has commended the President who is of the Peoples Democratic Party”.
No comments:
Post a Comment