A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba, in this interview with Success Nwogu insists the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, must vacate his seat, having defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress

You were recently quoted as saying that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, should quit the House. Why did you say so?

I said so because he has switched party. I am not talking about law. I am not interested in law. Sometimes we push the law too far and that is why this country is not growing. The simple fact is that the man has left the PDP. He said it, I did not say it. He said, ‘I am leaving PDP to APC,’ so I would expect that since he has left PDP for APC he should resign his seat which he got from the PDP.

Resign as the speaker?

He should resign as a member of the House of Representatives. That is the effect of crossing parties. If he resigns as a member of the House of Representatives, certainly he is no longer the Speaker. This is simple. That is why we are not moving forward in Nigeria. We tell lies to ourselves. Truth is overturned and I cannot stand it.

Another issue is if he does not go, how is he to be removed? If he does not go and he can show that he left the PDP because there is a division, then he is entitled to remain. But when he made that announcement on his Speaker’s throne, he only referred to the development in his state. He said, ‘Due to the development in my state.’ The constitution only allows division within a party. It is for Tambuwal to show that he is remaining in office as the Speaker because there is a division in PDP. He never showed it. As far as I am concerned, it is history; he should leave office. We are making a mountain out of a mole hill.

But he has been stripped of his security details…

I do not know how the Inspector-General of Police came into all this. I do not understand. As he has now gone to court, everybody has to wait for the court to determine whether his changing party deprives him of his privileges or not. It is not only Tambuwal, others have been jumping from one party to the other. There are many people sitting in the National Assembly and many governors who have defected. When Olusegun Mimiko, the Governor of Ondo State left the Labour Party for the PDP, heavens did not fall.

That is absolute double standard. There is no question about that. But that does not also mean that the speaker has not done the wrong thing. The Constitution is above everybody. The fact that the speaker has done something wrong does not mean that the IGP should also commit a wrong. He should follow the constitution and we would not have any problem.

The constitution says clearly that if you leave your party, you resign. Has he resigned? Has he said he is not resigning because there is a division in PDP? Let Tambuwal tell us that he resigned because there is a division. If he had said, ‘I leave PDP because there is a division,’ that is a different thing. He did not say so. He used the word, ‘development.’ I watched it very carefully. It is for him to prove that he left the PDP because of division. It is not too late. He can say, ‘Sorry, I can see that my statement was not fully clarified. I now clarify that I have left the PDP as a result of a division,’ and we can say, ‘Oh maybe that is true after all.’ But he has not said so. If the truth is that there is a division, then let him say so.

But if he does not resign what should be the next step?

There is a case in court. The court should determine the constitutionality of his action. The key questions the court should determine should be whether his resignation is as a result of a division.

The points are first, we should all obey the constitution. That is the only way Nigeria will grow. Second, I am very happy that Tambuwal defected because we need two strong political parties. Personally, I will encourage further defections because the PDP in current form, if there is an election, will win. But do not think that our politicians in all the parties in Nigeria have given Nigerians a fair deal. The only way we can get a fair deal is for the politicians to realise that they can be booted out if they do not work for Nigerians.

satowind:
If he should go he will take so many people wit him including governors.

I said so because he has switched party. I am not
talking about law. I am not interested in law.

I said so because he has switched party. I am not talking about law. I am not interested in law. Sometimes we push the law too far and that is why this country is not growing. The simple fact is that the man has left the PDP. He said it, I did not say it. He said, ‘I am leaving PDP to APC,’ so I would expect that since he has left PDP for APC he should resign his seat which he got from the PDP

TrishaP:
.

lilprinze:
j

omanifrank:
y

eleko1:
.

barcanista:
hhhh

barcanista:
hh

Trut:
Seconded and sealed.