Constitutional crisis looms as Senate writes CJN

* Seeks Onnoghen’s intervention over court ruling on polls sequence
* Wants CJN to caution judges against dabbling into NASS affairs
* ‘No court can stop Parliament from performing constitutional roles’

Worried by Wednesday ruling by a Federal High Court in Abuja restraining the National Assembly from overriding President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto on the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2018, which he declined to assent, the Senate on Thursday sought judicial intervention on affirmation of its constitutional role in lawmaking for the federation.

In what can be referred to as looming constitutional crisis, the Senate resolved to write the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, asking him to call judges to order against meddling into constitutional duties of the National Assembly.

The move by the Senate is to impress it on the Judicial arm of government to respect the Principle of separation of powers and to impress it on judges to avoid acts capable of undermining the 1999 Constitution by disrespecting the principle and tenets of democracy.

It was obvious that the Senate was not at peace with the court ruling delivered by Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja which ordered all the parties to maintain status quo ante bellum, “at least between now and the next adjourned date”.

Justice Mohammed had invoked section 6(6) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which he said empowered the court to protect the res (subject matter) of the substantive suit pending before it.
The Senate’s Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, had moved a motion, raising Order 42 and 52 of the Senate’s Standing Rule to state that the judgment amounted to “an abuse of the principle of separation of powers”.

Senator Akpabio (PDP, Akwa Ibom North-West) urged the Senate to write the CJN on the matter, stating its own side of the case, while his motion enjoyed unanimous support by Senators.

According to him, no court has the power to stop the Parliament from performing its constitutional duties.
He said: “I have perused the constitution and I discovered that there is nowhere the court was given the power to intervene in the powers of National Assembly.

“I therefore pray that we notify the Chief Justice of Nigeria through writing on the need for the judiciary to respect the principles of separation of power.

“If we didn’t check this now, a time will come when court will through any order stop us from passing the budget or performing other constitutional duties. This (National Assembly) is the core of democracy and there’s principle of the separation of powers which must be respected”.

In the same vein, the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, stressed the need for court to stop intervening on the constitutional duties of National Assembly, stating that, “there is separation of powers and interdependence of various arms of government”.

Lawan (APC, Yobe North) cautioned against any act capable of undermining the principle of separation of powers, stressing, “evolution of our democracy is presently at stake”.

But the Senate rejected attempt to make it apply a different approach on issues at stake made by Senator Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi Central) and Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano North ).

Both Senators Aliero and Gaya had canvassed that the Senate jettison writing letter to the CJN, while instead calling on its committee on Judiciary to take up the matter and interface with relevant stakeholders on a way out.

In his remarks, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, stressed the need for all arms of government to sustain institutions and democracy.

He said, “The issues are very clear. What is important for us is to sustain the institutions and our democracy. We are all here today to do our part and one day, we will leave here, but we must strengthen the institution.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier written the National Assembly, declining assent to the new amendment to the Electoral Act, which seeks to re-order the sequence of the polls during general election.

Buhari had in a letter to the Senate and read by the Senate President at plenary on Tuesday, said that it became imperative for him to withhold assent to the bill because it will infringe upon the constitutionally guaranteed discretion of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise, undertake and supervise elections provided in Section 15(A) of the third statue to the Constitution.

According to the President in the letter dated March 8, 2018, the National Assembly got it wrong in the amendment to Section 138 of the principal act to delete two crucial grounds upon which an election may be challenged by candidates, which has limited the rights of candidates in elections to a free and fair electoral review process.

Buhari said he declined assent to the amendment bill especially that of Section 152 Subsection (3)-(5) of the Principal Act because it raises Constitutional issues over the competence of the National Assembly to legislate over local government elections.