By John Nwokocha Abuja
As members of the House of Representatives commenced plenary on Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari was not in sight at the national assembly in total disregard to the House summon to brief it relying on Abubakar Malami’s advice as well as accusation of the lawmakers of acting beyond their bounds.
Members of the House of Representatives had earlier on December 1 passed a resolution to summon President Buhari to brief the House on the deteriorating security situation across the country.
This decision was taken when the House considered a motion of urgent national importance moved by members from Borno State arising from the November 28 massacre of 43 rice farmers in Zabarmari village in Jere Local Government Area of the state by Boko Haram insurgents.
The New Narrative newspaper recalls that in response to this, the President’s Personal Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie announced on Monday, December 7 that the President will address a joint session of the National Assembly.
Although President Buhari has failed to honour the invitation by the House of Representatives to address them on the security situation in the country, his absence had been predicted following the last minutes controversial intervention by the minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN.
Malami on Wednesday had accused the NASS of operating outside its constitutional bounds for summoning Buhari.
In his statement titled: Buhari’s Summon: NASS Operates Outside Constitutional bounds, the Justice minister argues that the confidentiality of strategies employed by the President as the commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not open for public exposore in view of security implications in probable undermining of the war against terror.
Malami also said President Muhamamdu Buhari has recorded tremendous success in containing the hitherto incessant bombing, colossal killings, wanton destruction of lives and property that bedeviled the country before 2015.
“The strategies for such achievement are not open for public expose”. He said.
According to Malami, the National Assembly has no constitutional power to envisage or contemplate a situation where the President would be summoned by the National Assembly on operational use of the Armed Forces.
“The right of the President to engage the National Assembly and appear before it is inherently discretionary in the President and not at the behest of the National Assembly.
“The management and control of the security sector is exclusively vested in the President by Section 218 (1) of the Constitution as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces including the power to determine the operational use of the Armed Forces. An invitation that seeks to put the operational use of the Armed Forces to a public interrogation is indeed taking the constitutional rights of law making beyond bounds.
“As the Commander in Chief, the President has exclusivity on security and has confidentiality over security. These powers and rights he does not share. So, by summoning the President on National Security operational Matters, the House of Representative operated outside constitutional bounds. President’s exclusivity of constitutional confidentiality investiture within the context of the constitution remains sacrosanct”.
A lawmaker from Rivers State, Solomon Bob had raised a point of order over the President’s refusal to honour the invitation of the house. He then asked the Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila to update the House on the subject matter.
Responding, the Speaker said the House will wait for official communication from the President.
