Majority party can’t take all in National Assembly – Enang

*Says Buhari will inaugurate cabinet when he’s ready

By Tunde Opalana, Abuja

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Legislative Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang has commended the leadership of the National Assembly for displaying fairness and maturity in the composition of standing committees of both chambers.

Acknowledging equitable distribution of committee chairmanship and vice chairmanship across party and geo-political zones, he said workings of the National Assembly does not encourage “winner takes all” mentality in the distribution of offices and positions.

Addressing the press on Wednesday at the National Assembly, Enang while reacting to the allocation of 49 committee chairmanship slots to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and yielding 20 slots to the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said cordiality and synergy among legislators, irrespective of party affiliations is required for national development.

He said lawmakers are not guided mostly by the interest of their political parties, but national interest as they shed the toga of party once they are inaugurated as members of the National Assembly.

Enang commended the Senate President and the Speaker, House of Representatives for their magnanimity in making the committee appointments a “win win” situation.

When asked why the President did not attach portfolios to ministerial nominees for effective screening, Enang said there is no constitutional stipulation for doing so.

He said that “you are saying that the President should have attached portfolios. Am sure from 1999 – 2000 this question has been asked. And so this question has been asked for the past 20 years and it is under the 1999 Constitution and the constitution says that the President shall appoint persons as ministers subject to confirmation of the Senate.

“The constitution did not oblige the President or a governor to attach a ministry or a portfolio in his nomination to the legislature. The reason is this, the candidate is screened and cleared as a minister; he is not cleared as a minister of education or minister of health or industry.

“And of course, portfolios may change and the structure of government may not be the same as it were. Again, when a minister is screened and cleared, he is assigned a portfolio, it may arise in the course of his assignment the President or the governor may decide to reassign him to another ministry.

“At that time, if you assign and the person is screened and in respect of that portfolio, which means the President may have to send the name again back to the Senate for screening or for confirmation. That is why the constitution did not make it mandatory to assign portfolio while sending it to the legislature. Therefore, the President has not done anything wrong.”

The presidential aide said President Buhari has assented to two bills, the Federal University of Agriculture, Zuru, Kebbi state and the Architect Registration Council of Nigeria (Amendment) bills.

In signing the Federal University of Agriculture Zuru into law, he said “it is converting the Federal College of Agriculture, Zuru to a full -fledged university with all the powers and authorities of a university, with all the principal officers of the university from the chancellor down to the staffers and from the date thereon, there is now an established the Federal University of Agriculture, Zuru in Kebbi state.”

Also, he said that the Architect Registration Council of Nigeria amendment bill has also been assented to, adding that “what the bill is about is that it has increased the fine or penalty from the N1, 000 it used to be to N500, 000 in appropriate places and generally, enhanced the power of architect registration process. So this bill is now law and it is an offence to go against it.”

On why President Buhari hasn’t inaugurated his cabinet after the confirmation of his 43 nominees by the Senate, Enang said the President will do so at the appropriate time

“The President upon receipt of the communication from the National Assembly will on a date he will fix and notify the screened and cleared nominee inaugurate them as appropriate,” he submitted.