Nigerian lawmakers on Tuesday issued a list of demands to President Muhammadu Buhari, largely related to security, in the latest sign of strained relations between the executive and legislature months before the country goes to the polls.
Buhari won election in 2015 mostly on his vow to improve security and fight corruption. But tensions with lawmakers and members of his own party have emerged in the last few months and critics have questioned his record.
Nigeria is beset by security challenges, including a jihadist insurgency and communal violence between farmers and herders. Buhari’s critics say his fight against corruption has only targeted his opponents.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives held a rare joint session behind closed doors before stating their resolutions.
Security agencies must “curtail the sustained killings of Nigerians across the country and protect life and properties of Nigerians as this is the primary duty of any responsible government,” they said in one of the 12 resolutions.
The lawmakers also called for an end to the “systematic harassment and humiliation by the executive of perceived political opponents.”
“The National Assembly will not hesitate to evoke its constitutional powers if nothing is done to address the above resolutions passed today,” concluded lawmakers, who have the power to impeach the president.
It is latest sign of discord between the presidency and parliament, who were embroiled in a standoff earlier this year over the confirmation of new members of the central bank’s monetary policy committee.
The resolutions were read out by Senate President Bukola Saraki, who on Sunday was asked by police to answer allegations that he had links to a gang behind a spate of armed robberies.
Saraki, who denied any wrongdoing, has been dogged by numerous accusations of misconduct since becoming Senate president in 2015, though none has led to convictions. He was not the ruling party’s preferred candidate, which caused strains in his relationship with Buhari.
Fissures within the ruling APC, a coalition party, have come to the fore in the last few months in the run-up to the February 2019 presidential election.
On Monday, in the wake of the allegations leveled at Saraki, a faction of the party with close ties to the Senate president issued a statement reiterating its complaint that many of its members felt ostracised.
“It has become evident that Mr. President must be called to order through an appropriate legislative instrument,” the opposition People’s Democratic Party said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a former member of the House of Representatives, Mr. West Idahosa, has pointed out that the National Assembly’s message to the Executive and specifically President Muhammadu Buhari, with its resolutions yesterday is clear.
According to him, the lawmakers have the power to commence his impeachment process, if the President fails to comply with their resolutions.
“When the President has been asked to comply with certain decisions of the National Assembly, otherwise they will invoke their constitutional power.
“It’s a very clear message and what is the constitutional power that the National Assembly can invoke at a time like this? They can, of course, begin the impeachment process of Mr. President and hope they secure the required 2/3rd in parliament to get him out of office.
“So that is a clear message and I think the President should be worried about that message,” Idahosa said in a television interview.
At an emergency joint session on Tuesday, the National Assembly reaffirmed its vote of no confidence on the Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris and warned the President over the “systematic harassment and humiliation by the Executive of perceived political opponents.”