BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
Impeachment moves in many states’ Houses of Assembly are oftentimes politically motivated and triggered by lack of financial autonomy to the legislatures, a former lawmaker, lawyer and an opinion moulders has held.
A former member of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Nwabueze Ugwu, while reacting to the current crises in the Plateau State House of Assembly and that of Imo State, said that the rules of the parliament that allowed for suspension and impeachment of members as punishment for gross misconduct had been variously abused due to selfish interest.
Ugwu, who represented Nkanu West Constituency in the Enugu State House of Assembly, noted that during electioneering, state lawmakers were often divided because of external influences, especially from the executive.
The constitutional lawyer held that state lawmakers would continue to engage in “politically motivated suspensions, removal and impeachments of elected officers,” if the issue of financial autonomy for state legislature was not addressed.
He said, “It is alarming that suspension and impeachment have returned to our parliaments. Yes, the constitution states how any of the principal officers of government can be impeached. Heads of the executive can be impeached because of gross misconduct according to Section 188, Sub section 11 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Impeachment process is strictly governed by the constitution and not rules of the legislature. Because the legislature has been given the power to define what gross misconduct is, the lawmakers go on to impeach and suspend whoever they want even if the person has not committed any offence
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“Impeachment process is strictly governed by the constitution and not rules of the legislature. Because the legislature has been given the power to define what gross misconduct is, the lawmakers go on to impeach and suspend whoever they want even if the person has not committed any offence. We should note that suspension is not governed by the constitution but by the rules of the legislature.
“The constitution provides that for a Speaker to be impeached, two third of the plenary votes has to be met. In the recent cases in Plateau, Imo and other states, it was only one third which made it clear that it was politically inclined and not due to incompetency of those that were suspended. Elections are around and you see politicians want to achieve personal interests. I believe very strongly that financial autonomy would bring about independent thoughts and sanity into the legislative arm.
“There is so much external influence on the state Houses of Assembly in Nigeria and this can only be curtailed once the legislature has financial independence. This will also enhance optimal performance.”
Also, Ken Ofoma, a political analyst and former acting Vice-President, Nigeria Union of Journalists in the South-East zone, said that whenever minority gathered to impeach majority in the Assembly, such impeachment was politically motivated.
He also advocated for financial autonomy for the legislature, saying that parliaments were called rubber stamps in some quarters because of their dependence on the executive.
“The state governors have all the powers and that is why most Houses of Assembly are referred to as rubber stamps. If you don’t do what they (governors) want you to do as a principal officer, your head will be on the chop board.
“If the House has financial autonomy, to some extent, they would resist external pressures. Suspensions and impeachments (moves) always arise when elections are close, and don’t be surprised, more will still spring up because alignments and re-alignments will soon be surfacing,” Ofoma stated.
