Reps pass bill granting presiding officers immunity

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed for second reading the bill seeking to alter of the 1999 Constitution to extend immunity to cover presiding officers of legislative institutions.

The bill which aims to amend Section 308 of the constitution was sponsored by Rep. Odebumi Olusegun (APC/Oyo) and was passed at plenary.

Leading the debate on the bill, Rep. Olusegun said that immunity for presiding officers is in line with international best practices.

House Majority Leader, Rep. Ado Doguwa (APC/Kano) in his contribution to debate on the legislation charged the House not to shy away from discussing matters that concern the institution.

He said if immunity covers the president and the governors, protecting them from being distracted while doing their jobs, the same should be extended to presiding officers of the parliament.

Rep. Doguwa observed that if the legislature is the backbone of democracy, then the presiding officers should enjoy immunity and protect the integrity and sanctity of the institution.

Similarly, the House Minority Whip, Rep. Toby Okechukwu (PDP/Enugu), recalled that in 2015 the bill was passed, but was not signed into law.

He stated that the former presiding officers of the Senate were chocked with litigation which affected the entire parliament, adding that even though the officers were later acquitted, the activities of the Senate and indeed, the National Assembly had been affected.

The minority whip said though the Power and Privileges Act protects members of the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly from whatever they say inside the chambers, the present bill is to protect the institution of the legislature.

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But, in opposing the bill, the Minority Leader of the House, Rep. Ndudi Elumelu (PDP/Delta), said that “what is important to the Nigerian people is security of lives and property and not immunity for presiding officers.”

He said that Nigerians were being killed on a daily basis and that the clamour to hold people accountable is on the increase, arguing that passing a bill conferring immunity on presiding officers is not what the parliament should be doing.

“I think it is wrong and should not be allowed; I think we should jettison this bill as there is nothing presiding officers are doing that cannot be accounted for,” he said.

In the same vein, Rep. Sergius Ogun (PDP/Edo) declared that at a time when Nigerians were asking for the removal of immunity from the executive, the legislature should not be asking for the same immunity.

The House member said that already, immunity is being abused, saying that there is no reason why a sitting president or governor should not go to jail for a crime he committed while in office.