A Lagos lawmaker, Mr Tunde Braimoh, has hailed Sen. Ahmad Lawan’s election as the Senate President for the 9^thNational Assembly.

Braimoh who represents (APC-Kosofe II) at the Lagos State House of Assembly told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the 9th NASS had started on a good plane and speed.

“The Senate of the 9th National Assembly has kick-started on a good plane and speed. The election of its leadership was characterised by democratic norms and practices.

“Lobby, consultations, meetings, pleadings settlements, compromise and other mutual understanding procedures were orders of the process.

“Like in any functional democracy, there must be interests and desires by candidates; freely expressed,’’ Braimoh, a former Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Public Petitions and LASIEC said.

He said that the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) had also played the role expected of it in terms of articulation, aggregation, evaluation and selection of who gets what position.

The lawmaker said that the concomitant of all these ground works culminated in the seamless conduct of the inaugural plenary of the senate and the election of its key functionaries.

“Against this background is the general expectation of the new leadership to hit the ground running and unfetter itself from the clogs and avoidable worries with which the erstwhile leadership befuddled and beclouded itself with.

“Government stands on a tripod of the executive, legislature and judiciary. It is therefore incorrect as widely believed even by some legislators or judicial officers that the executive constitutes the government.

“Indeed  the stakes are equal but the executive only stands as the centre. The principles of separation of powers and checks and balances are sacrosanct and non-negotiable.

“However it must not be forgotten that the powers are intricately and delicately fused in such a way that no arm can completely function in isolation of the two others,’’ Braimoh, a legal practitioner said.

According to him, the legislature occupies a strategic position as the supplier of funds and legal instruments for executive actions.

The lawmaker said that the NASS should even set agenda and precipitate the pace and tempo of the executive.

“This is especially so as the executive and the majority of the legislators are from the same political persuasion with a common manifesto,’’ he said.

NAN reports that Lawan was elected Senate President on Tuesday at that inaugural session of the 9th National Assembly.

Lawan pulled 79 votes to defeat his rival, Ali Ndume who scored 28 votes.

-NAN

BE

– June 11, 2019 @ 18:17 GMT |