After marathon meeting between the House of Representatives and the
Senate, the National Assembly on Tuesday listed conditions for peace
between the legislature and the executive arms of government.
The lawmakers, arising from the over two hours closed meeting, also
threatened to invoke their constitutional powers should the President
fail to adhere to the resolutions as they passed a vote of no confidence
on the Inspector General of police, Idris Ibrahim.
Here are the resolutions:
Senate President Bukola Saraki reports that at the joint session, the National Assembly resolved as follows:
1. The Security Agencies must be given marching orders to contain
all the sustained killings of Nigerians and protect the lives and
properties of Nigerians — as this is the primary duty for any
responsible government.
2. The systemic harassment by the executive of perceived political
opponents — people with contrary opinions in the legislature and the
judiciary — by the police and other security agencies must stop.
3. There must be strict adherence to the rule of law and protection for all citizens by the President and all his appointees.
4. The President must be held accountable for the actions of his
appointees and must be ready to sanction, those that carry out any act,
that will ridicule or endanger the country and our democracy.
5. The government should show sincerity in the fight against
corruption by not being selective and also prosecute current appointees
that have cases pending against them.
6. The sanctity of the National Assembly should be protected and
preserved by the federal government and prosecute those who invaded the
Senate to seize the mace.
7. Democratic elections must be competitive and inclusive by
removing the current reign of fear and intimidation — particularly as we
approach the forthcoming 2019 elections.
8. The National Assembly will liaise with the international
community through the IPU, the APU, ECOWAS Parliament, Pan-African
Parliament, EU, US Congress and the United Nations to secure our
democracy. The National Assembly will also engage with civil society
organizations trade unions and NGOs to further deepen and protect our
democracy.
9. The President must take immediate steps to curtail the growing
level of poverty and unemployment in Nigeria — especially now that we
have an advantage of high oil prices.
10. Both chambers of the National Assembly hereby pass a vote of
confidence on the Senate President, the Speaker and the entire
leadership of the National Assembly.
11. We also hereby reaffirm our earlier resolution on the vote of
no confidence on the Inspector General of Police, who does nothing but
preside over innocent Nigerians with an outright disregard for
constitutional authority of both the executive and the legislature.
12. The National Assembly will not hesitate to invoke its
constitutional powers if nothing is done to address the above
resolutions passed today.