The Deputy Director-General of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council, Dino Melaye, has said an administration led by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar would not interfere in the election of the Senate President or Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Melaye said the ADC would allow members of the National Assembly to choose their presiding officers, insisting that the party was committed to democratic principles and legislative independence.
He made the remarks on Monday during an appearance on Arise Television’s Prime Time, while responding to questions about the party’s proposed mechanisms for monitoring government payments, fund releases and beneficiaries.
According to him, Atiku would respect the independence of the legislature rather than dictate who should lead either chamber of the National Assembly.
“To start with, an Atiku presidency will not determine who is going to be the Senate president, the president of the Senate, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives,” Melaye said.
“Atiku is a Democrat. ADC is a very democratic political party. So we are going to allow the people to elect their leaders.”
The former senator argued that allowing lawmakers to elect their leaders would promote legislative independence and strengthen the National Assembly’s capacity to scrutinise the executive arm of government.
He said an independent legislature would be better positioned to carry out its constitutional oversight responsibilities and hold the executive accountable.
Melaye added that the ADC would ensure that the National Assembly operated independently if the party formed the next government.
“So to start with, the ADC will make sure that the National Assembly is truly independent, and if the National Assembly is truly independent, that will drive their oversight functions over the Executive,” he said.
On monitoring government expenditure, Melaye said relevant committees of the National Assembly would be empowered to question public officials and examine how government funds were released and spent.
He specifically identified the Committees on Establishment, Finance, and Budget and Planning as possible channels for investigating public expenditure and demanding accountability from government agencies.
“The Committee on Establishment is responsible for questioning this type of spenders because they have direct oversight function over the State House. The committee on finance is there. The committee on budget and planning is there,” he said.
He added that the committees could be used to demand explanations from officials over government spending and ensure that public funds were properly accounted for.
“So you can use any of these committees at least to ask questions,” Melaye said.
