As Buhari shuns Reps invitation, House still expecting President

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday failed to appear before the House of Representatives despite his earlier promise to honour the invitation in order to address Nigerians on the growing insecurity in the country.

The House on December 1 had invited him over the rising insecurity after a long debate on the recent killing of 43 rice farmers in Borno State by Boko Haram.

But the House said it was still expecting the President to appear before it to shed light on the security situation.

Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila told State House correspondents on Thursday that the lawmakers expected the President to fulfil his promise to appear before the House as a man of honour and integrity.

He said Buhari was yet to communicate with the House on why he had not appeared before the lawmakers.

However, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), had said on Wednesday that the National Assembly lacked the powers to summon the President to speak on security matters.

But the Senate distanced itself from the invitation extended by the House to President Buhari.

Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege also said it was unconstitutional and an aberration for any arm of the National Assembly to summon President Buhari to appear before it.

The upper chamber, through the Chairman of its Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Basiru (Osun Central), told reporters in Abuja that the Senate had nothing to do with the invitation of the President by the House.

He said that since the Senate did not summon the President, it would not want to be dragged into the controversy.

Basiru said, “I’m a spokesperson of the Senate. There was no resolution of the Senate that the President should come and address it on the issue of national security.

“I expect that every enquiry as to the summoning and coming of the President should be directed to the House of Representatives.

“We operate a bi-camera legislature. That’s why our rules and procedures are different and that is why also we need concurrence from the two Houses on passing of legislation.

“On this matter, there has not been an issue of a joint resolution. What you have is resolution of the House of Representatives.

“And I believe, the House of Representatives should be able to tell you why the resolution was passed, and what will happen to that resolution.

“As far as the Senate is concerned, we have not summoned the President and we don’t want to get ourselves involved in any controversy as to whether the president will appear or not.

“To the best of my knowledge I’m not aware of any planned joint session of the National Assembly tomorrow.”

The AGF’s spokesman, Dr. Umar Gwandu, had quoted his boss in a statement on Wednesday as saying, “Mr President has enjoyed constitutional privileges attached to the Office of the President including exclusivity and confidentiality investiture in security operational matters, which remains sacrosanct.

“The National Assembly has no constitutional power to envisage or contemplate a situation where the President would be summoned by the National Assembly on the operational use of the Armed Forces.”

He added, “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.”

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