The Constitutional responsibility of the National Assembly includes lawmaking, oversight functions, investigations of public office holders, passing laws for the executive to implement, moving motions and bills that formulates policies for the country, among others. And even though these functions are separated from those of the Executive and Judiciary arms of government, this is so only to avoid clashes and duplication in functions; Overall they are all in place to serve the best interest of the people of Nigeria at all times.
In modern democracy, it is usual and proper to provide
a mechanism or institutional framework that affords the people the opportunity/right
to keep a close watch on the actions and behavior of their representatives,
with a view to withdrawing the electoral mandate given to any of them, in the
event of loss of confidence in them.
In view of the challenges the country is facing,
ranging from the dwindling economy, insecurity, decayed infrastructure and many
other vices, the need to prioritize needs given the state of the economy and
the people cannot be over-emphasized; And it is for this reason that for
instance, the expenditure profile of our lawmakers/representatives, and the
question as to what extent such expenditure is necessary for the lawmakers to
conduct oversight functions as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, remains a topical
issue.
The power of recall is simply
one wherein an elected official can be removed from office even before the end
of a constitutional tenure. It is another element of checks and balances
provided for by the Constitution to promote and ensure good governance in the
country.
Section
69 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
states thus:
“A member of the Senate
or of the House of representatives may be recalled as such a member if: there
is a presentation to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral
Commission, a petition in their behalf, signed by more than one -half of the
persons registered to vote in that member’s constituency alleging their loss of
confidence in that member; and which signatures are duly verified by the
Independent National Electoral Commission; the petition is thereafter, in a
referendum conducted by the Independent National Electoral
Commission within ninety days of the date of receipt of the petition,
approved by a simple majority of the votes of the persons registered to vote in
that member’s constituency.”
In breaking
the above section down, the necessary steps therefore are that:
1.
More than half of the registered voters in the
Senator’s senatorial district write, sign and send a petition to the Chairman
of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC alleging their loss of
confidence in the senatorial
2.
The petition must be signed, and arranged according to
polling units, wards, Local Government Areas, and Constituency.
3.
INEC notifies the Senator sought to be recalled,
stating that it has received a petition for his or her recall, if the petition
is valid
4.
INEC issues a public notice or announcement stating
the date, time and location of the verification of signatures to the petition
5.
INEC verifies the signatures to the petition at the
designation. The signatories must be individuals who appear on the voters’
register.
6.
INEC conducts a referendum if more than one half (50%
+ 1) of the signatories are verified
7.
INEC writes to the petitioners stating that the
minimum requirements for a referendum were not met, if the number verified is
less than one half of the registered voters in that constituency. The petition
will therefore be dismissed.
8.
INEC conducts a referendum within 90 days of receipt
of the petition if the minimum requirements for a referendum are met. The
referendum will be a simple yes or no vote on whether the Senator should be
recalled, and will be decided by simple majority of the votes of the persons
registered to vote in that Senator’s constituency.
9.
If majority of the voters in the constituency vote
‘yes’ the Chairman of the INEC will send a Certificate of Recall to the Senate
President to effect the recall.
10. The Senate
President will show affected senator the way out of the Senate.
The action of groups of protesters
under the guise of ‘Occupy NASS’ who stormed the Assembly main gate with the
aim of taking over the premises, insisting that the Senate President, Senator
Bukola Saraki must resign to face his ongoing trial at the Code of Conduct
Tribunal, brings to fore the need to enlighten and inform Nigerian citizens on
exercising their rightful power of recall, as is captured in Sections 69 and
110 of the 1999 Constitution as a means to getting rid of inactive and non-performing
lawmakers in both Federal and State Assemblies (and not just mere protests,
which may only yield so much).
Nigerians are also advised to take
a cue from the members of Babeji/Kiru Federal Constituency in Kano State, who
have asked for the recall of suspended House of Representatives member,
Abdulmumini Jibrin Kofa, for calling for the immediate resignation of President
Muhammadu Buhari over his ill health, and upon claims that he has not been so
beneficial to them.
This recall mechanism, is not only aimed at promoting
transparency and accountability in legislative representation which in effect
results in responsiveness, but also in engendering the participation of the
people in the running of their own affairs. It serves as a means of showing
sensitivity to the plight of Nigerians, giving them the right to recall
representatives who have misplaced priorities and are in such positions
performing only self-serving duties.
A responsible and responsive National Assembly, is one
which not only follows due process in taking decisions, but one which also
takes into consideration the views and feelings of the nation in taking those decisions.
They cannot be ostentatious and extravagant, when what is clearly needed in our
country is moderate, simple and frugal spending. The Members of the National
Assembly therefore need to always be conscious of its image and avoid making
decisions that would in any way pitch the lawmakers against the general public,
and this consciousness will be better brought to mind when the right of recall
is well-exercised by Nigerians.
As has been established to be a problem, the process
of recalling may be difficult in the Nigerian democratic system, in view of
that fact that corruption that has in itself, eaten deep into the system, as is
seen in instances of “political
god-fatherism” or any person who has what it takes to ensure that such a recall
system is frustrated.
An important point to note also is
that the Nigerian constitutional provisions on recall, and worse still, the
Electoral Act is totally silent on the procedure to effect recall in practice.
For example: Nothing is said about when a recall election will hold or whether
a recalled lawmaker will have right to challenge his removal in court or not
(which is the case under the Californian law which requires a recall notice to
be served on a lawmaker who is to be recalled so that he may make a defence
within a specified period of time); And this therefore brings to fore the question
of how thorough the system of recall is in Nigeria, seeing as such an important
concept as “fair-hearing” for the legislator is nowhere adequately provided
for.
Although this power of recalling
underperforming legislators vested to Nigerians by the constitution has not
been successful in the country, many argue that the mere fact that it is
constitutional promotes good governance and accountability. Also, even
if individual voters find the process impracticable and unworkable, it only
remains a question of time; and with strong and vibrant civil society groups,
the process may be successfully deployed to recall such an errant lawmaker.
Conclusively, it goes without saying that many
lawmakers exist in the legislature for selfish interests and not with a view to
making life better for the people. Where Nigerians
have therefore wrongly voted people who are not of character as their
representatives, we must therefore be courageous enough to recall any
of these representatives who are not representing us well, either in the Senate
or in the House of Representatives. It remains
pertinent to however reiterate that while exercising this constitutional right,
it should not be abused or used for selfish political reasons.
N.B: GBOREMI OGUNDIPE (A 500 Level, Law Student of University of Lagos and a Member of the VOICE
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