Voice Vote Drama: NBA Calls Out NASS Over Rivers State Emergency
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is not having it! The legal bigwigs have outright rejected the National Assembly’s (NASS) endorsement of the state of emergency slammed on Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu. Their reason? It’s totally unconstitutional!
NBA President Afam Osigwe, SAN, took to Politics Today on Channels TV to spill the tea. He wasn’t impressed that NASS made such a huge decision using a simple voice vote. According to him, this shortcut doesn’t meet the constitutional standard, far from it!
He explained that the Constitution is crystal clear about approving a state of emergency: the National Assembly must give the green light with a two-thirds majority. That means lawmakers’ votes need to be properly recorded, who voted in favor, who opposed, and who sat on the fence. A voice vote? It’s not going to cut it!
Osigwe pointed out that using a voice vote makes it impossible to confirm if the required number of lawmakers actually supported the decision. And if the process isn’t airtight, the whole thing falls apart. That’s why the NBA is calling the endorsement invalid and unconstitutional.
His words? “You can’t clear that by a voice vote. It falls short of the constitutional requirement because, by a voice vote, you are unable to determine whether the threshold for ratification has been met.” Boom!
With the NBA shutting down NASS’s move, things are getting even messier. Critics are already questioning the legitimacy of the emergency declaration, and now, the legal community is doubling down on the argument that due process was ignored.
What’s next? Well, expect some serious legal fireworks. This fight is far from over, and it’s looking like a major showdown between the NBA and NASS. Stay tuned!
This whole drama proves that shortcuts don’t work in governance, especially when the law is clear on the right way to do things. If the National Assembly wants to be taken seriously, it’ll have to ditch the voice votes and follow the Constitution to the letter.
