'We Have a Dishonest Presidency and Irresponsible Government'
By
Repealing and amending 2001 Electoral Act may have been escapist. With Senator Osunbor's revelation describing Speaker Ghali Na'abba as being
responsible for the insertion of the contentious clause in the Electoral Bill and the denials from the House of Representatives exonerating him, don't you think
Nigerians deserve to be told the truth about what exactly happened. Are you aware of how the controversial clause was inserted shouldn't the persons be brought
to book?
I find the buck passing quite curious and rather very funny. There are principal characters in the whole of this saga and those are the President, the Senate
president, the Speaker and the Clerk of the National Assembly. For people to be going to the pages of newspapers and making one denial or the other is not
enough. As far as I know, we passed and submitted the Electoral Bill to the President and of course the President refused assent except the issue of
registration of political parties is properly addressed the way he wants it. That is, making it very difficulty for the parties to take off and so he said he
wasn't going to assent to the bill until that is done. A meeting was held in the Senate President's house where two of our members threatened that if that is
done they will resign. But after much argument they retired to the Speaker's house where it was decided that they would see the President.
When they saw the President and the President mentioned that he wanted a proviso to the 80(1), the Speaker then at that point requested that the president put
it in writing and of course there is a letter to that effect signed by the President asking that this is the way he wants clause 80 (1) to read. But of course,
by the time they brought those letters which were inserted into our boxes, we were already on recess. The essence was that we should debate it and if it is
acceptable include it, but we were already on recess and at that point, that the letter came in, I think the Speaker travelled the day after to Saudi Arabia.
If somebody made a request and you said he should put it in writing, that does not mean that you are the one who is making that request. This is one thing that
should be clear and if I sign a document and turn back and accuse another person, that sounds very funny. The President signed the document and he is saying
that it is the Speaker. So if someone now writes a document that I should go and kill myself and I sign it without looking at it and I then accuse the person.
Does that not sound funny? I think Nigerians should not be deceived. A President of a country signed, I think the best thing for him to do is to apologize to
Nigerians and say, look, people make mistakes, I am sorry. There is no way you can sign a document as the President of a country and turn around and accuse a
person of being responsible for the insertion of that clause.
That document was signed by the President of this country and so it was on his request that the Speaker now made a counter request-that we can't take that
verbally, put it in writing, let me bring it to the House. And when he brought it, he sent it to us, but unfortunately, we were on recess. But what followed
thereafter, after the Speaker travelled was curious. While Osunbor and Co. should now clearly come out and apologize and explain their roles, they are busy
accusing one person or the other. When we summoned the Clerk to the House, he gave us graphic details of what transpired between himself, the Senate President,
Senator Tunde Ogbeha and Senator Udoma. Of course Osunbor says that he left them at the Villa. The truth is what the clerk told us - graphic details of what
happened. Nobody has come out to deny the fact that the Senate President was in the office of the Director of Legal Services from 2.00am to 4.30 am.
He has not come out to deny that. Ogbeha has not, because the Clerk is still holding the copy which Ogbeha gave him with his name on it and with the clause that
has become so contentions now. And so instead of people just denying, let them own up and apologize. That way they will attract sympathy instead of these
denials that are baseless. Everybody is aware of the relationship between the President and Senate President. If the President wants anything, he won't go
through the Speaker. That is totally unfounded and baseless. It was the Senate President who from what the Speaker told us and which of course we believe
because we know how the Senate President relates with the President.
I will be specific. Honourable Gumel threatened in the Senate Presidents house that he would resign if that clause was inserted because with what the House
passed, they did not have the mandate to change it. Honorable Gumel threatened that he was going to resign from the Committee if that was going to happen. It
was at that point that they said, let them go and sleep over it. And when they went to the President, if it was the Speaker who brought that, why would the
Speaker have asked the President in the Villa to now put it in writing? If the President had made that request to the Speaker earlier on, he would have told him
that what he would have been bringing is something in writing. But it was in the Villa the following day after they had met in the Senate President's house, and
there was a deadlock that all of them decided jointly that lets go and meet the President the following day. In the morning they went and the Speaker said well
Mr. President if this is what you want, put it in writing and that is what the President did and signed. So if what Osunbor is purporting to say is the Speaker
made the request, he would have come out earlier in writing but it was in the Villa before every other person that he made that request that the President
signed. So I think they are just trying to save themselves from a situation that you can simply say, well I am sorry I made a mistake. Its as simple as that. If
I was involved in that, I can come out and say I am sorry. They have deceived Nigerians, instead of them to own up than passing buck, I think I find that very
irresponsible.
What do you think this portends for the nation?
It portends a bad leadership. But then it shows that we have an irresponsible government of which I am part of. I am not exonerating myself. But it's a very
irresponsible thing for a Government to do. And if a President signed a document and could now come back and say I do not know what was inside, then he is not
worth to be a President. Because the essence of having advisers is that if something comes before you, you should be able to say look at this thing so that what
you are signing is the proper thing. But if a President signs a document and claims that he doesn't know what is inside, I think it is irresponsible and such a
person is not qualified to be President, because there is no document at my level which I sign that I do not go through because it could be implicative. And so
that's part of dishonesty. We have a dishonest President. That is simple and clear. We can't be pretending about it. The truth must be told. These people should
own up. The buck lies on the President's table. If he signs a document, he should simply come out and tell Nigerians that look, I made a mistake, it won't
happen again and we would accept that as Nigerians. But for a President to now sign two documents... he first signed a letter requesting that the proviso should
be inserted, when that is done, you now sign the bill itself and thereafter come back and claim that other persons inserted it and you signed. Ah no... It's an
irresponsible thing to do. Nigerians are not that gullible and I think that most Nigerians are reading in between the lines. I think its an irresponsible thing
for any President to do.
While you say that apologies are in order, the APP has also said that those involved in this matter should be arraigned before the Anti Corruption Commission.
What is your opinion?
Of course it is a very grievous offence but what I am saying is that even before a law court, if you commit a criminal offence and you come before the court and
own up, the law of equity comes in for you to lessen either the punishment or you are exonerated from the problem. So if you commit an offence as the President
of a country or as an elected person and you come out to say sorry, even if you are taken before any anti-corruption commission, you have owned up. That is the
most gentlemanly thing for any person to do. And I would totally support the APP stand. Its a very serious offence and anybody who is involved in it should be
properly sanctioned. I support that, but I am saying that if anybody comes out to own up, of course, there will be sympathy for such a person. At least you are
a man of honour. It's dishonorable for a President to sign a document and come back and accuse another person.
Culled from ThisDay Online..January 27, 2002
Hon. Gabriel Suswam, a lawyer and member of the House of Represent-atives (representing Katsina-Ala, Ukum and Logo Federal Constituency, Benue State), passes a damning verdict on the Obasanjo government in this reaction to the vexed issue of the 2001 Electoral Act. He spoke to Lillian Okenwa and Iyefu Adoba. He spoke before the Act was repealed.
January 2002