PRESS RELEASE:

EDHA REJECTION OF STATE HOUSES OF ASSEMBLY AND JUDICIARY AUTONOMY, A SHAME ON LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATION.

The leadership and members of Edo Civil Society Organisations, a network of civil society groups in Edo state received with rude shock of the rejection of the autonomy of State Houses of Assembly and the Judiciary in the ongoing amendment of the country’s constitution for the strengthening and deepening of democracy in Nigeria.

It should be noted that Uyi Igbe led Edo State House of Assembly in 2014 rejected a similar attempt to give autonomy to state houses of assembly in the country. The continuous rejection of this component of our constitutional amendment by persons elected to represent the voice of the people calls for concern and urgent response before our democratic growth is retrogressed twenty years backward by elected few.

The people’s aspiration should be paramount above the desire of any political party leaders in a true democratic dispensation. We are being taken aback that an arm of government would vote against its independence, the interpretation of such action is that, the legislative and judicial arm of government should continuously remain as the apron string of the executive arm of government. For democracy to be deepened and conforms to international best practices, it must have the ingredients of checks and balances among the three arms of government.

We are demanding that members Edo State House of Assembly should rescind its resolution for the rejection of the autonomy of the state houses of assembly and the judiciary before it is sent to the National House Assembly to save us from the impending shame as a state, since 32 states have already approved same in the contrary. If this request is not considered as soon as possible, we will not fail as a formidable and foremost network of civil society groups in the state to mobilize Edo people in the shortest time to remind our lawmakers that their election is to represent the yearnings of the masses not that of their political party or leaders.

The state houses of assembly and the judiciary represent the voice of the people and the people are not willing to trade it on the altar of political patronage and personal aggrandizement by any elected representative. The legislature should be the most powerful arm of government because it represents the people from whom sovereignty belongs to. Our lawmakers are hereby reminded to think of posterity at the end of legislative representation.

Signed:

Comrade Osazee Edigin
Public Relations Officer
Edo Civil Society Organisations

www.edocso.org

Weird behavior I thought rule one power is to perpetuate itself. I wonder why the don't want to give themselves more power.