The move by President Muhammadu Buhari
to secure emergency powers aimed at addressing the nation’s economic
crisis may not see the light of the day, as senators yesterday rejected
the proposed bill, saying Buhari was seeking to transform himself into a
tyrant and would foist a dictatorship on the nation.
The bill entitled, “Emergency Economy
Stabilisation Bill 2016”, will be sent to the National Assembly by the
president upon resumption from its summer vacation and after the Eid el
Kabir holidays.
However, given the reaction of some
senators to the proposed emergency powers being sought by Buhari through
the bill, the legislation may be thrown out.
Several senators, who spoke on Monday, vehemently kicked against it, adding that it was “dead on arrival”.
Several senators, who spoke on Monday, vehemently kicked against it, adding that it was “dead on arrival”.
According to the senators, who did not
want to be named, some of the provisions in the bill were unnecessary,
describing it as nothing more than a subtle way of avoiding counterpart
funding by the Buhari administration.
According to them, if the bill is passed
as proposed, the president will gradually transform himself into a
dictator and draw Nigeria back to the path of military rule, which it
exited 17 years ago.
They said without the so-called
emergency powers at his disposal, Buhari has continued to trample on the
powers of the legislature, explaining that if given further powers, he
would more or less reduce the National Assembly to a rubber stamp like
the kinds of legislature that exist in China and Russia.
Credit: ThisDay
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