The turf appear set for a major confrontation between President Umaru Yar’adua and the Nigeria House of Representatives over the Yar’adua’s accusation that the federal legislature was unduly withholding legislative action on some executive Bills, as House spokesman, Hon Eseme Eyiboh
accused him of being ignorant of the legislative process.
In separate reactions on the development both House Minority Leader Hon Mohammed Ali Ndume and Hon Eyiboh, chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs took exceptions to the accusation.
Ndume simply queried “what has he done”, in an obvious reference to the president’s score sheet in office while Eyiboh described him as being ignorant of the legislative process, which he said was more than just hitting the gavel on any matter in consideration in the hallowed chambers.
The House he warned will not allow itself to pressured into passing legislations that “some people would exploit to loot the treasury.
He took time to lecture the president on the various stages a bill would pass before becoming a law. “Whoever has accused the House of Representatives of not doing what he should do is ignorant of the process.
The issue of legislation is not just to pass the law. The issue of legislation is not to pursue a supersonic jet on a runway. Bills have a process before they can be passed. “Do you want 105 Bills to be passed in one week so that people will feast on them and help themselves economically”, he queried.
The President had complained of delay in the passage of some executive bills forwarded to the National Assembly for legislative action.
He indicted the federal legislature of impeding prompt policy initiatives in the sectors where the bills would have provided the needed legal muscles to back their action.
May I crave the indulgence the indulgence of some forum guys to post their response to this story below