Femi Falana Tells Speaker Dogara Not To Join The Senate In Amending The Code of Conduct Bureau Act

Nigeria’s leading human rights and constitutional lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana has drawn the attention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives to what he described as the illegal and hasty move by the Senate to amend the Code of Conduct Bureau and Code of Conduct Tribunal Act.

The bill for the amendment of the Act, sponsored by Senator Peter Nwaoboshi passed the second reading last week within 48 hours.

In an open letter to Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria said the hasty move by the senators to amend the Act is not only insensitive, suspicious, self serving and opportunistic, but also also illegal and unconstitutional.

“Firstly, to the extent that the proposed amendment is designed to serve the interests of an individual it is a violation of section 4(2) of the Constitution which has empowered the National Assembly to make laws “for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part thereof…”

“Secondly, notwithstanding that the Senate President has decided not to preside over the plenary in the Senate whenever the bill is being debated the whole exercise is a clear violation of paragraph 1 of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers enshrined in Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution which stipulates that “A public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities.”

“Thirdly, section 3 of Act which the National Assembly seeks to amend has become spent. Senator Nwaoboshi was reported to have said that he was proposing an amendment to section 3 of the Act to provide “for an opportunity for the person whose rights and obligations may be affected to make representations to the administering authority before that authority makes the decision affecting that person.” With respect, section 3 of the Act is in pari materia with Paragraph 3(e) of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution. To that extent, section 3 of the Act is inoperative and invalid in every material particular”, the legal luminary wrote.

Falana also drew the attention of the speaker to the futility and illegality of the National Assembly amending or enacting laws which have similar provisions in the constitution , citing an “authoritative” pronouncement of the Supreme Court on the matter.