Lawmakers Not Subservient To Executive, Says Jibrin

The deputy Senate president, Hon. Barau Jibrin has dispelled insinuations in certain quarters that the National Assembly members are subservient to the executive.

Jibrin stated this in Ilorin, Kwara State while delivering the 15th convocation lecture of Al-Hikmah University titled: “Managing executive-legislative relations towards democratic consolidation in Nigeria’s fourth republic.”

He said that the wonderful collaboration between the executive and the legislature is borne out of President Bola Tinubu’s antecedent as a former governor and senator.

Jibirin added that “as we speak there is a wonderful collaboration between the executive and legislative arms of government. Reason being that the president is a senator. He understands the game very well. He interacts with the lawmakers very well.

“Whenever he wants to present any bill to the National Assembly he normally meets with the executive members to discuss about the bill before it is being brought for debate.

We will correct the mistakes if there are any. That is why the bills get accelerated passage.

” That is why we have the atmosphere of good collaboration with President Tinubu and people see it as being rubber-stamp of the executive.

“When peace can give the nation what it wants why engage in fighting? At the beginning of this fourth republic, there was this lack of Harmony between the legislature and executive because of the psyche of Nigerians occasioned by prolonged military rule.

“The then President thought he should have maximum powers. He was not relating with us the way the current president is relating. I was at the House of Representatives then. I can see the difference. It was like an order then.

“President Tinubu knows the game very well. This collaboration is very essential for us to have a smooth running of government.

“But some people construe the collaboration as being subservient to the executive. It is because we interact on a continuous basis.”

Jubirin added that “Nigeria’s Fourth Republic has endured longer than any previous democratic experiment in our history. This endurance, however, must be matched with qualitative democratic deepening. Managing Executive–Legislature relations with wisdom, restraint, and constitutional fidelity is central to this task.”

He charged the graduates  to uphold democratic values, demand accountable governance, and contribute intellectually and ethically to Nigeria’s democratic consolidation.

“Democracy is not sustained by institutions alone, but by enlightened citizens and principled leaders”, he said.