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The former lawmaker representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has urged the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and other lawmakers to ensure that nominees for appointments and executive proposals undergo serious scrutiny.
Naija News reports that Sani stated this while speaking at the opening of the National Assembly Legislative Aides’ Forum (NASSLAF) Week on Tuesday in Abuja.
Sani cautioned the National Assembly against allowing its actions to diminish its influence, stressing that its primary duty was to serve Nigerians, not the presidency.
He said, “The Senate president must ensure that nominees for appointments and executive proposals undergo serious scrutiny. This is not a place for automatic approval”
The pro-democracy activist also urged legislators to live up to their responsibilities selflessly for the good of the country.
According to him, a subservient posture by the legislature is not in the country’s interest, warning that such can impede good governance and undermine democracy.
Sani compared the current national assembly with the Eighth Assembly, led by Sen. Bukola Saraki, and praised it for resisting the executive branch’s overreach.
He warned that the current assembly risked becoming a rubber stamp for the executive, sacrificing its independence and weakening democratic checks and balances.
The former senator further stated that their insistence on doing the right thing birthed frosty relationships with the executive and caused delays in bills’ passage, warning that excessive cooperation was dangerous, as it could breed tyranny.
Sani cited instances where heads of MDAs openly challenged lawmakers during oversight functions, a behaviour that previous assemblies would not have tolerated.
He stated, “In our time, it was unthinkable for heads of MDAs to ignore our summons. They understood the gravity of our oversight functions. This institution needs respect. If you turn yourselves into stooges, you will lose that respect. Our era defended legislative independence, but it came at a cost.”
