SARAKI, DOGARA ,ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS & THE CONSTITUTION

Dr Bukola Saraki is the Senate President of the 8th National Assembly while Hon. Yakubu Dogara is the Speaker House of Representatives................Congrats to them and their deputies

Against all odds and godfather-ism on the choice of candidates for the seats, Saraki and Dogara emerged, one would ordinarily think their party ,the All Progressives Congress will congratulate them, unfortunately it was business as usual.

The leadership of the APC has released a statement rejecting the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as Senate president and Speaker House of Representative, in the statement released, they said they are not candidate of the APC and of its majority National Assembly members-elect for the position .The party is supreme and its interest is superior to that of its individual members. The APC leadership is meeting in a bid to reestablish discipline in the party and to mete out the necessary sanction to all those involved in what is nothing but a monumental act of indiscipline and betrayal to subject the party to ridicule and create obstacle for the new administration.

First and Foremost, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the grundnorm which other laws derive its validity from, therefore the position of the party is not superior to the provision of the Constitution.

Section 56 of Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution FRN state that (1) except otherwise provided by the constitution , any question proposed for decision in the senate or the House of Representatives shall be determined by the required majority of the members present and voting, and the person presiding shall cast a vote whenever necessary to avoid an equality of votes and shall not vote in any other case.

(2) except as otherwise provided by this constitution the required majority for the purpose of determining any question shall be a simple majority

What are the options available to All Progressives Congress 

The majority voted for the Senate President and Speaker House of Representatives, therefore the election is valid but the party if aggrieved by the conduct of these two have the right to either suspend, expel or do otherwise to them but cannot declare the seats vacant, neither can they say the election was not duly conducted.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria 

Thank you

Oyenike Alliyu-Adebiyi LLB(hons) BL