A new report indicates that about 40 Nigerian lawmakers may be forcefully kicked out of the National Assembly and even vacate their seats if a suit filed against them succeeds.
The suit was filed by the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP), a non-governmental organisation that seeks to promote transparency and accountability in governance through public interest litigations, advocacy, policy engagements.
As reported by Premium Times, 40 legislators may lose their positions and seats for concurrently holding memberships in the National Assembly, ECOWAS Parliament, and the Pan-African Parliament and collecting emoluments from all.
From the report, some of the legislators affected by the development include; the deputy senate president, Jibrin Barau, the acting speaker of the ECOWAS sixth legislature. He emerged as the acting Speaker during the inaugural session of the assembly held in Abuja.
As reported by The Punch on April 4, 2024, Barau, was nominated by the first deputy speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Awaji-Inombek Abiante and seconded by Senator Ireti Kingibe.
Other lawmakers that are affected by the lawsuit include Ali Ndume, Abiodun Olujimi, Smart Adeyemi, Tolu Odebiyi, and Mshelia Haruna, among others.
The development follows a suit filed at a Federal High Court, Abuja, against the legislators by ALDRAP.
The body had earlier called on the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio to declare the seats of the affected lawmakers vacant for belonging to multiple parliament’s at the same time and collecting emoluments from all, The New Telegraph reported.
The group, in the letter dated April 8, signed by its Secretary, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja, warned that in the event that the Senate President fails to comply with its request within seven working days from the date of the letter, it shall commence a lawsuit to seek the interpretation of a court of law.
The group prayed the court for an order directing the Clerk of the National Assembly immediately discontinue the payment of salaries and all forms of remuneration to all the 40 lawmakers.
Also, the group, asks the court to order the 6th defendant (INEC) to immediately conduct bye-elections within 30 days from the date of the vacancy to fill all 40 vacant seats at the National Assembly.
In another development, TimesNow.com.ng reported that the chief whip of the 10th Senate, Senator Ali Ndume, condemned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s newly introduced cybersecurity levy.
Ndume maintained that it is wrong for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s led federal government to continue levying citizens while doing nothing to increase their income.
Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at TimesNow.com.ng
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
