Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, has described the appointment of the current Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, as the Chief of Staff to the Nigeria’s President by Mr Bola Tinubu, as a constitutional aberration.
Though President Tinubu announced his appointment on Thursday, June 1 and Senator Remi, wife of the President confirmed it too, Gbajabiamila is yet to resign his speakership.
In his Twitter handle on Friday, Effiong said ‘‘The principle of separation of powers under our constitutional framework applies both to functions and personnel of the different organs of government. The intention of the framers of the Constitution was to give each arm independence from the other arms of government.
‘‘It is a travesty of this principle, for Gbajabiamila’s appointment as Tinubu’s Chief of Staff to be announced without him first resigning not only his speakership position, but also his membership of the House of Representatives.’’
According to him, ‘‘The position of Chief of Staff to the President is not a trivial position. It is a very significant executive position. By virtue of 68 of the Constitution, it is forbidden for a member of the National Assembly to occupy executive position while still a legislator.
‘‘Section 68 of the Constitution further provides that a member of the National Assembly shall cease to be a member, if circumstances arises which would have disqualified such a member, had it arisen at the time of the election. This appointment is such a circumstance.’’
‘‘The relevant question is: if Gbajabiamila was the Chief of Staff to former President Buhari, would he have been qualified to seek re-election as a member of the National Assembly without first resigning his appointment as mandated by Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
‘‘The answer is obviously in the negative. The attempt to strike-down Section 84(12) was defeated at the Supreme Court. Also, the Code of Conduct for Public Officers under Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution forbids a public officer from enjoying double emoluments.
‘‘The fact that the tenure of the current National Assembly will elapse in a few days time, does not lessen the controversial character of this appointment. Gbajabiamila’s appointment has trivialized the status of the National Assembly as a separate arm of government,’’ the lawyer pointed out.
Effiong tweeted ‘‘As a legal practitioner, he ought to know the implications of his conflicting dual roles on our nation’s nascent democracy and constitutional order. His acceptance to serve two masters in this circumstance has eroded whatever was left of the independence of the National Assembly.
‘‘I have, however, noted that Gbajabiamila in his acceptance statement on his social media accounts, indicated that his appointment will take effect on June 14, 2023; a day after the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly.
‘‘It would have been tidier for the appointment not to be announced until he has vacated his position as Speaker of the House of Representatives in order to preserve the institutional integrity of the National Assembly as a separate arm of government.
‘‘If urgent national issues arises that requires the National Assembly to assert its independence, and call the Executive to order, can the Speaker discharge his functions effectively and independently given his conflicting positions following his appointment as Chief of Staff?
‘‘The fact that the appointment has not yet taken effect does not extinguish the appointment or render the instrument of appointment (letter of appointment) void. It only means that he’ll begin to perform the factions of his new position at a later date. But he has been appointed,’’ he added.
Gbajabiamila Reacts
Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has addressed reports of his appointment as Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Also, Femi Fani-Kayode, the Director of New Media for the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Committee, has congratulated Gbajabiamila on his Twitter page.
However, when approached by newsmen to comment on his appointment, Gbajabiamila neither confirmed nor denied the information.
He urged Nigerians to be patient about the announcement, adding that the system works in its own way.
“Let the system follow its course,” he added.
