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Buhari Absent From House Of Reps’ Thursday Plenary

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4 years ago

Dec 10, 2020.

65 Government Agencies Have Never Been Audited – Reps

Reps summoned President Buhari to appear before it in a bid to seek answers to the country’s ailing security structure.
The Speaker of the House also paid the President a visit to discuss his appearance before the House in plenary.

Following the gruesome execution of 43 rice farmers in Zabarmari, Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents and other reported cases of banditry and Abduction, the House of Reps had on December 1 adopted a resolution to summon President Muhammadu Buhari to appear before it to explain the rising spate of insecurity in the country.

On Monday, Eko Hot Blog reported that the President’s Personal Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, on Monday announced via twitter that the President will address a joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday (today).

But at the commencement of plenary today, President Muhammadu Buhari wasn’t seen anywhere around the National Assembly Complex.

During Thursday’s plenary, a lawmaker representing Ahoada-East/Abua/Odual Federal Constituency of Rivers State, Solomon Bob, raised a point of order over the President’s absence, requesting that the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila update the House on the matter.

In his response, Gbajabiamila said the House will wait for official communication from the President.

Gbajabiamila who had visited the President after the House agreed to invited him said the President had agreed to honour the invitation as he is more concerned than most about the state of insecurity in the country.

However, the Senate also distanced itself from the decision of the green chamber to invite President Buhari before it, saying it will not meddle, even as the Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, described the invitation as unconstitutional and an aberration.

The Chairman Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Ajibola Bashiru, had told journalists on Wednesday that he is not aware of any planned joint National Assembly session on Thursday (today).

Ọmọ-Agege, while addressing journalists at an event in Abuja, had argued that the framers of the Constitution did not envisage a situation where one arm of government would summon the head of another arm of government to appear before it.

“The framers of our Constitution did not envisage that one arm of government will be summoning the head another co-equal arm of government to come and offer an explanation on the floor.

“I think those of you who are familiar with the constitutional process, I don’t think you’ve ever heard that the US parliament had ever invited their president to appear before the House of Representatives or the US Senate, unless for the purpose of budget or to give an address on the state of the nation.

“In any event, we also have the concept of executive privilege. The executive arm of government has the power to claim executive privilege at any time any of such invitation is extended,” he said.

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