By Mohammed Mohammed
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN, on Thursday solicited the support
of the National Assembly for smooth working relationship and speedy passage of bills
Malami, made the disclosure when he paid a courtesy visit to principal officers of both chambers, said, a harmonious working relationship between the arms of government will advance the interest of the nation.
He added that several bills were proposed during the 8th National Assembly, while additional ones will be presented during the 9th National Assembly.
The AGF however expressed concerns that several bills presented to the 8th NASS were never passed nor assented to because of certain inadequacies or constitutional issues.”
“Enormous resources, energy and cost have gone into legislative process of lawmaking, and I feel the time is now right for us to work together for the purpose of eliminating the associated bottlenecks that have constituted hindrances to the passage of the bills and assenting thereto.
“My beneficial approach is to look at the possibility of working together between the executive and legislature; and where the need arises, the judiciary, in working on the bills before they proceed to the stages of public hearing.
“We cannot afford to expend resources, time and energy in formulating and drafting bills that will eventually not be passed or assented.” Malami said.
In his response, the Senate President Mr. Ahmad Lawan, while commending the “historic engagement’ of the AGF said the present cordial relationship between the Executive and the National Assembly should be one driven by mutual respect and consultation between both arms of government.
“We shouldn’t work at cross purposes; and beyond bills, we need to extend the consultation to other spheres of engagements for us to achieve optimal performance,” Lawan said.
The meeting, according to the Senate President’s Assistant on Media, Print, Mr. Ezrel Tabiowo, quoted Lawan as saying in a statement, that the interface was an important engagement between the Office of the AGF and the leadership of the NASS towards achieving a working relationship that would facilitate the seamless passage of bills and their assent by the President.
“This shows the kind of relationship that characterise the ninth National Assembly and the Executive arm of government, which essentially is for the benefit of Nigerians, the people we represent,” Lawan added.
“When we process a bill, so much resources, effort and commitment are put into it; so we have to do everything possible to ensure that the processes are such that the outcomes justify the enormous resources put into the processing of the bills.”
“This relationship is productive so far, it is working and helping this country and we will continue with it. However, that is not to say that we will compromise on things that are our mandate,” Lawan said.
The Senate President also called on the AGF to ensure that heads of agencies are carried along in the process of drafting executive bills to avoid sabotage.
“I want to advise, that when an executive bill emanates from you, exhaust all opportunities for heads of agencies that will be affected by the eventual passage of the Bill into law to participate.
“Let them put in their ideas before you roundup work on the draft that will be sent to the NASS for consideration.
“Often times, heads of agencies deliberately refuse to attend public hearings, and when the bills are passed and sent to the president to sign, then they go around saying things about the bill stopping government from working and so on.
“This is something that we have to address. When there’s a public hearing on a bill, we will make it mandatory for heads of agencies that are supposed to participate to attend. If they don’t attend, they shouldn’t go back to the President to advise against the assent to such bills.”
Lawan acknowledged that the government on its part puts in part to ensure smooth governance just as the lawmakers, stressing however that one individual, like a Managing Director or Executive Secretary, who feels he or she may lose part of his mandate to another agency, may go ahead to sabotage the whole process. We need to guard against that.”