Second Republic politician, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has said it is not the business of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to anoint the principal officers of the National Assembly.
He said the party should not insist that its position should prevail over the right of the members of the National Assembly to elect their leaders, noting that the current crisis in the National Assembly arose because APC had decided to nominate individuals as leaders.
Speaking with THISDAY at his residence yesterday in Kano, Yakasai maintained that APC should avoid further crisis between it and its members.
He noted that the legislators do not see themselves as the extension of the presidency, but people who have the mandate of the populace that elected them.
He said: “This crisis arose from the fact that the APC had decided to anoint individuals as Senate president and speaker of the House of Representatives. That is where the mistake came. It is not the business of the party to anoint leaders of the National Assembly. The party should try to halt further crisis for peace to reign in the assembly.”
Yakasai also advised that the party should recommend zoning for the positions of the principal officers.
He stressed that even the zoning should be subject to the acceptance of the members of the assembly.
According to him, APC should make the freedom of the members of the assembly sacrosanct.
Yakasai, who was the National Assembly adviser to President Shehu Shagari in the Second Republic, added that the party should always respect the views and opinions of the members.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart also warned that the party risks facing serious problem between its members and the executive, noting that more than 70 members in the Senate did not accept the dictatorship from the party.
He warned that if the problem is not handled with care, it would affect the relationship between the members of the National Assembly and the executive.
