Nigeria's
military action in The Gambia under the auspices of ECOWAS wasn't
sanctioned by the National Assembly as demanded by the constitution.
President Muhammadu Buhari
The Senate on Thursday criticised the Federal Government under the
leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari for deploying troop in Gambia
without seeking legislative approval, Punch reports.
The Nigerian Air Force had moved a contingent of 200 men and air
assets, led by Air Commodore Tajudeen Yusuf, to Dakar, Senegal, which is
the base of the Economic Community of West African States Military
Intervention to force President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia out of power.
The Nigerian troops, which left from the 117 Air Combat Training
Group camp in Kainji, Niger State, on Wednesday, joined troops from
Senegal, Ghana and other countries in the West African sub-region.
But Senator Chukwuka Utazi, while raising a constitutional point of
order, said what the Buhari-led government did was against the law,
citing Section 5 (4) of the Constitution.
Section 5(4) states, “(a) the President shall not declare a
state of war between the federation and another country except with the
sanction of a resolution of both houses of the National Assembly sitting
in a joint session; and (b) except with the prior approval of the
senate, no member of the armed forces of the federation shall be
deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria.”
Utazi added, “I am saying this because of the happenings in our
friendly country in Gambia. The ECOWAS countries have been discussing
on this issue; on how to ensure that democratic crisis of the people of
Gambia are protected. But to ask that this country will go on a warfare
in another country without a recourse to this constitutional provisions
is an affront of the 1999 Constitution and it is a breach of the
Constitution, and we have failed even when the Senate has been
cooperating with the executive.
“Let it be on record that if anything of this nature happens in
this country; that this national assembly have to be informed properly
in writing.”
President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, who presided over
the plenary, however cited Subsection 5 of the Constitution to counter
Utazi.
Details later.
No comments:
Post a Comment