The rivalry between the Muhammadu Buhari-led executive and Bukola Saraki-led legislature, which dates back to the very beginning of the current administration, has persisted with the ongoing battle over election sequence and others. Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, Assistant Editor, Onyedi Ojiabor and Victor Oluwasegun report on why the two arms have resolved to fight without compromise and the likely implication for Buhari and Saraki
Every attempt to resolve the cat and mouse relationship between President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Executive and Senator Bukola Saraki-led Legislature has failed woefully since the commencement of the present administration in 2015. With the determination of the leaders of the two arms of government not to compromise their hardline positions in the election sequence battle, amongst other current contentious issues; concerned observers have expressed fear that the lingering face-off between these critical arms of government may never be resolved until the end of the current administration. They are therefore concerned over the likely implication of the development on the polity, especially on the political fortunes of President Buhari and Senate-President Saraki and their henchmen as the campaign for the 2019 General Election gathers momentum.
Considering the obvious implication of a possible open defeat in the on-going power battle, both for Buhari and Saraki, observers are wondering why they have resolved to fight to the very end instead of considering other political means of resolving their differences.
For example, last year, when the face-off peaked over Senate’s rejection of Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Executive’s insistence that he would, notwithstanding, remain the Acting Chairman of the anti-corruption agency, some informed Nigerians advised the presidency to approach the court to resolve the impasse once and for all. But the power show deepened further when the Senate, on July 4, 2017 resolved to suspend all confirmation requests from the executive until decisions of the legislature are adhered to.
No pretences on both sides
From onset, both the executive and the current legislature have never pretended about their frosty relationship.
With the controversies that trailed the emergence on June 9, 2015 of Abubakar Bukola Saraki as President of the Senate and Ike Ekweremadu as his Deputy, the seed of discord between the two arms of government was openly sowed.
The seed of discord was watered and nurtured as the duo emerged against the dictates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). In the course of time, the plant has blossomed into a mighty tree with a deep and formidable tap root.
Less than one year to the 2019 General Election, the power game between the two arms of government has grown wings without any sign that it would abate.
The two arms seem to have learnt nothing and forgotten nothing: As it was in the beginning in 1999, when the then Olusegun Obasanjo Presidency and the National Assembly battled in a war of attrition, so it is today. Each arm practically goes for the kill at the slightest opportunity, with their conflicting interests obviously at variance with the common good.
Worried as Nigerians have been over the unhealthy scenario, the two arms appear oblivious of the feelings of the people. For them “fair is foul and foul is fair”.
Entreaties and persistent appeals for the two arms to come to terms with the need to close ranks have remained unheeded.
The impression is created that all hope for warm relationship between the two arms in the life of the current regime may have been lost.
The contentious emergence of Saraki and Ekweremadu, no doubt fueled suspicion between the two arms at inception. However, nobody thought the no-love-lost scenario will become intractable.
It may therefore be imperative to draw attention to the import and weight of the moment; three years of uncertain relationship, occasioned by unbridled rivalry between the two arms. A moment of anxiety, concern and worry being expressed by Nigerians who fear for the health of the country. A moment of ego and personality clash
The power game plays out and has actually become the defining denominator of the relationship between the two arms.
Power show at Red Chamber
The feud between the Executive and the Red-Chamber has been consistent in the request for confirmation of the various nominees of President Muhammadu Buhari. It is also exhibited in the presentation, consideration and passage of appropriation bills. The two warring arms have continued to flex muscles over matters that ordinarily require cooperation. Mutual suspicion has become the operational mantra.
Heads of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) are more often than not summoned in some cases for issues that could be resolved without invitation.
The power game is also demonstrated when heads of MDAs willfully shun invitation of the parliament in matters of statutory budget defence.
The two arms have also mastered the art of blackmail. The blame game appears to have become the death dance of the two arms to the detriment of good governance. No arm wants to take responsibility for the unhealthy state of affairs. More often than not, observers are at a loss to decide who is really in charge.
Apart from the obvious conflict of interests in the emergence of the Senate President, observers say the arraignment of Saraki for alleged false declaration of assets, further deepened the gulf of mistrust between the two arms.
The rejection of the request for the confirmation of the Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, did not help matters.
Magu was presented twice to the senate for confirmation, and twice the upper chamber rejected him.
The Senate said its decision to reject the nomination of Magu was based on “unfavourable” report by the Department of State Services (DSS) against the nominee.
The executive smelt a rat and read pecuniary interest in the rejection.
The rejection of Magu’s confirmation did not go down well with an obviously touchy presidency. Probably to spite the Senate, the Executive vowed to keep Magu on the job as the Acting Chairman. It became a matter of show of strength between the two arms.
Comments by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, to the effect that EFCC chairman is not included in offices that senate should confirm added salt to an already festering injury. The senate cried blue murder and resolved that the court should decide the true position.
It did not stop there. The senate went further to resolve not to consider presidential nominees that are not expressly listed in the constitution until the court’s decision on the contentious issues are resolved. The list of nominees for confirmation pending before the senate has continued to grow longer. Nigerians appear to have no say in the entire brouhaha.
However, the senate had to reverse itself only last week when it screened and confirmed two nominated Deputy Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria and three members of the Monetary Policy Committee. One of the nominees was rejected.
We gathered that the confirmation of the Deputy Governors of the apex bank and MPC members was effected because it became obvious to lawmakers that the delicate economy of the country might be badly affected if the needful was not done on that matter.
The Senate saw reason and bowed to pressure following a measured motion by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other financial institutions, Senator Rafui Ibrahim.
The blame game
While some observers say there is really no face-off between the two arms of government, others disagree.
For those who believe that the seeming rivalry between the two arms is normal, “what is happening can be traced to a breakdown in communication between the arms of government”.
They blame the situation on the inability of the APC, which commands majority membership in the bi-camera legislature, to galvanize and drive the relationship between the two arms.
For those in this school of thought, the APC has “failed abysmally to check the excesses of the legislature and the bullying tendency of the executive.” This, they say, has led to allegations of “loss of bearing” leveled against the party by some observers.
One of the latest issues that have brought the conflict of interests between the two arms of government to the fore, more than anything else, is perhaps the amendment of the Electoral Act, 2018.
However, some insiders told The Nation that the reordering of the sequence of elections, which placed the National Assembly election first, followed by governorship and House of Assembly, and thus placing the presidential election last, did not originate from the senate.
According to a source at the upper chamber, “when the Senate passed the amendment, reordered sequence of election was not one of the items listed. However, when the two chambers convoked a conference committee, the House of Representatives’ version, which contained the reordered sequence of elections, was adopted.”
However, it was the adoption of the conference report by the senate, our investigation confirmed, that resulted in the emergence of Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Ovie Omo-Agege-led Parliamentary Support Group for President Buhari.
The group has stoutly opposed the adoption of the conference report, alleging that the amendment was specifically aimed at scuttling President Buhari’s re-election bid.
Since then, Omo-Agege particularly appears not to have known peace following his assumed pivotal role at a briefing on the need for the senate to dump the amendment.
Although Omo-Agege took his time to apologise to the senate and to withdraw what he was reported to have said at the briefing, the Delta Central senator was referred to the Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions Committee for disciplinary action.
He has since gone to court to stop his appearance before the committee.
Insiders told The Nation on Friday that Omo-Agege may not escape suspension, his going to court to seek reprieve notwithstanding.
Also as part of the show of strength, Abdullahi Adamu has been removed as Chairman, Northern Senators Forum, a move perceived by observers as an attempt to reduce his carriage.
We also learnt that some senators are already finalising the scheme to override the veto of President Buhari to the bill despite stiff opposition by the Adamu group.
Senators have also fought what they described as the serial treatment of the National Assembly with disdain by the Presidency. Making repeated references to this, such aggrieved lawmakers will always refer to alleged refusal of the executive to fund the constituency projects in which they hold some considerable stake.
According to one of such lawmakers, “in 2016, constituency projects were not funded, in 2017 the projects received 50 per cent funding while the fate of the projects is not known this year.”
Besides these, some of the senators are also angry that state governors are allegedly using the instrumentality of the party against their interest in most of the states.
For them, governors are overtly being aided by the Presidency to get at senators.
The cases of Kaduna, Bauchi, Kogi and Jigawa states, where senators are at dagger drawn with their governors, are usually cited by them as telling examples of the alleged presidency’s aide of governors against federal lawmakers.
How long will the battle rage?
If the feelers from the National Assembly are anything to go by, there seems to be no end in sight in the raging face-off. A top senatorial aide, for example, confided that there is the likelihood that immediately after the third year anniversary of the executive and the parliament, “the two arms will answer their names through and through.”
An observer, asked to anlyse the situation reasoned that “Saraki, as the Senate-President is not as weak as some presidency aides seem to think, but is still holding his game, spending resources for the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to clear his name,” he said, adding, “I can assure you that once the Supreme Court clears him, Saraki will become a lion that he is.”
Rumbles in the House
As is the case between the Presidency and the Senate, the relationship between the Presidency and the Yakubu Dogara-led House of representatives is like that of a cat and a mouse. Our investigation shows that in the Green Chamber, the rift has been mainly due to issues relating to budget.
The 2018 Budget for instance has had its fair share of wrangling as the executive claimed that the legislature was deliberately holding on to the budget. On its part, the National Assembly said Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are refusing to show up for budget defence sessions.
However, some insiders said the 2018 national budget hearing at the National Assembly on the 27th and 28th of March held to primarily to soothe some frayed nerves both in the executive and in the legislature.
Nonetheless, it has become known that the bickering has assumed a far greater dimension as the two arms of government are today locked in combat on different fronts.
Apart from the annual face-off over the budget, another point of contention is the Zonal Intervention Projects which has been a source of strive.
With a princely sum of N100 billion attached to it, lawmakers see it as a way of making their presence felt in their constituencies, but the reluctance of the executive to implement the projects has always frayed the nerves of the legislators, even as they describe such reluctance as ‘cheap blackmail.’
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, for example, recently stated that no amount of blackmail from any quarters will force the National Assembly to abandon Zonal Intervention Projects. According to him, it is the tool through which lawmakers ensure equity in project allocation nationwide. Though it has been “misunderstood and terribly maligned, it has brought development across all federal constituencies and federal presence to remote and forgotten areas in the country,” Dogara had said.
Taking cognizance of such belief, it seems that for as long as the executive continues to handle the Zonal Intervention Projects with levity, there will always be friction between the two arms of government.
Again, the intention of the parliament to override the veto of the president on many unaccented bills also has put the executive and legislature on the warpath.
Recently, the spokesman of the House, Abdulrazak Namdas, told reporters that the House was commencing the process of overriding the President on 11 bills, including the Peace Corps Establishment Bill.
True to the words of the Green Chamber, the bills were listed in the Order paper and taken through first reading a week after.
One of the bills was the Electoral Amendment Bill which the president had earlier refused assent to.
The amendment streamlines the process for submission of candidates, sequence of elections, party primaries of political parties, etc.
In fact, since the move to override the President’s veto, the country had been on edge with political alignments almost tearing the National Assembly apart.
A member of the House, who opposed the move and pleaded anonymity, said it’s an attempt to rubbish the President and the party.
According to him, the purpose is to whittle down the powers of the president and his influence on elections.
“The move should be resisted because what it means is that we no longer need the President’s power or influence as a party leader in our elections.”
But others are totally in agreement with overriding the President’s veto.
Presently, the controversies still rage as lawmakers align in two major opposing camps. Some days ago, the controversy took a new dimension when some reports claimed that there were moves to bribe some lawmakers to kill NASS’ resolve to override the president. Since the report was muted, there have been protests within and outside the hallowed chambers as lawmakers deny such claims.
Grave implication
Most observers have expressed concern that except the rift is quickly resolved; some of the administration’s noble plans may never be realised until its current tenure expires. But more informed analysts also wonder why Buhari and Saraki decided to fight this battle in the open, knowing the full implication of failure. The argument, according to a political commentator, “is that unlike Saraki, who has to fight in order to survive politically and serve out his tenure, for Buhari, the political cost of failure in this open battle is too enormous to contemplate.”
Giving a hint why the presidency has decided to take on the leadership of the legislature on the numerous issues, a source in Abuja said, “2019 is at the centre of the power battle. Take the election sequence matter for example; it is important to the president’s political survival as it is to the lawmakers. So, why should anybody expect Mr. President to sleep over such an important matter? This is a battle that must be fought and won now.”
Way out
Worried by the seemingly unending face-off and the hardline attitude of the leaders of the two arms of government, Nigerians have called on the leaders of the executive and the legislature to settle their rift amicably and as quickly as possible so that governance would no longer be hampered.
Dr. Francis Eke, a former lecturer in political science ‘the face-off is not in the best interest of Nigeria. What we have in Nigeria today is not the usual checks and balances. What we have is sheer battle between personalities over ego and pride. The effect on the polity, economy, governance and development is too much. I plead with President Buhari, as the father of the nation today, to relate with the leaders of the National Assembly is a way that will promote mutual respect and national progress.”
For the Coordinator of South-south Legacy Forum, Comrade Ogbotogbo, “The concept of separation of power in a constitutional democracy is to create opportunities for checks and balances in the governance for effective service delivery. But this does not mean that each arm of government would become a separate republic with a Commander-in-Chief, doing their own things to antagonize each other. Also, lobbying is not a one way stream. So, any organ of government can do the balancing act. The important thing is that national interest precedes every other thing.
“Recalling the charismatic leadership of former Senate President David Mark, I think the onus is on Saraki-led NASS to reinvent its relevance by rebuilding its relationship with the other arms of government. I think that is the way out.”
Mallam Abdulmalik Musa thinks otherwise. He told The Nation on Friday that the way out is for the contentious issues to be taken to the court for final decision. “That is why we have the third arm of government. If there is any contention over some constitutional or legal provisions, it is for the court to interpret it. These things should not be allowed to heat up the polity. Let the affected arms take the matter to court and let the court play its role. That, I think is the right way to go.”
As the debate rage on, Nigerians are eager for timely resolutions in the interest of the common man who have been denied dividends of democracy because of the petty rivalries of our leaders. Whether the right resolution would ever come before 2019, remains to be seen.