AGF/Senate clash: Democracy or impunity?
The fiasco between the Senate and the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, (SAN), has a lot of implications for Nigeria’s democratization process.
The debacle is a pointer to the fact that we are indeed in the era of change. Gone are the days when the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary could connive to support corruption and other unconstitutional practices for personal interests at the expense of the nation.
The imbroglio between the legislators and the Executive can be viewed as a process geared towards consolidation of the democratic culture, entrenchment of an egalitarian philosophy culminating in the much-needed respect for the rule of law. But the Senate has interpreted the issue as an act of meddlesomeness or interference by the Executive.
However, many see the issue as a legitimate attempt to emancipate the country from corrupt practices.
As the Senate insists that the claim that the alleged forgery of the Senate Rules is an internal affair, the Attorney General is seen as championing the positive change mantra of the present administration and the crusade against corruption and impunity.
In a statement issued by the Media and Public Affairs Committee Chairman, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, the Senate lamented that dragging its leadership to court to clarify the allegations was an attempt capable of truncating Nigerian democracy.
In what can be described as battle to stave off major crisis, the Senate developed various methodologies to avoid the case including impeachment threat, intimidation as well as aggressive media campaigns against the AGF. The most recent is summoning of the AGF by the Senate to appear before them.
The current show-down appears to be a recast of the time when the then Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria was asked to appear before the Senate to defend his claim against gross financial allocation to the National Assembly.
The clash between the AGF and the Senate is a gloomy commentary on the democratic process in Nigeria but the question that arises is that is this democracy in practice or mere impunity?