One of the greatest endowment and beauty of democracy is the Doctrin of Principle of Separation of Power/Checks and balances as propounded by Baron de Montesquieu, a French Enlightenment political philosopher and scholar, and in 1747, he published in his book ‘Espirit des Louis’ (The spirit of the laws).
This principle derive from the notion that no power should be absolute as such would naturally corrupt absolutely. It is on the bedrock that representative democracy was framed and made the legislative arm a functional aspect of government. Hiwever, this arm, though integral pursuant to the core objective of delivering socio economic advantages to the people is also distinct and independent to the extent that its powers and actions are autochtonomous and inherent in itself away from the executive arm.
The process of law making is tideous and scrutinizing while confering on these two arms duties and responsibilities that are both mutually exclusive and independently assorted.
The legislature (albait legislator) could originate a proposal to be passed into law as a private member bill. After likely positive considerations by all members, same bill is slated for public consideration (Public Hearing). This is where members of the public are allowed to make input as to the plausibility or otherwise of the bill. INSTRUCTIVELY, THERE IS ROOM FOR CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN LAW MAKING IS A SINE QUA NON.
Secondary, even after the bill has been passed in the legislature, it is at that point that the Executive arm of government officially seizes of the bill for accent or decline.
Upon this lenghty backgroud I am compelled to lay my opinion on the House Bill presently trending and raising anxieties in the state. The Bill concerning pension for Former Governors et cetera.
I aporeciate the anxieties being raised but my worry is that those anxieties are being misdirected largely to the Executive Governor. From the early part of this piece, it is obvious that the Governor Rt. Hon. Dr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi played no part in the conception of the bill. Let me make myself clear and unambigious that i do not have the right to condem the bill as proposed by the House Leader because there is ample opportunity for the citizens as a people to bring down the bill during citizen engagement (Public Hearing) if they deem fit.
My primary concern is the misdirected outbursts being meted to the person and exalted office of the governor for allowing for the independence of the legislature. I expect and rightly beleive that the time we may bring the governor into the picture is when the legislators would have passed the bill and transmit to the governor for accent into law and he accent to it.
Let me also advise that whereas the citizens relax and resort to social media instead of attending public hearing when the advertorial calls the bill would scale through and by then, the Governor would easily assume that having secured the endorsement of the citizens, it is in keeping with the dictum of government of the people for the people and then accent the bill into law.
Finally, the knell of my point is that the Governor of Emugu State has little or nothing to do with the proposed bill as it is and should be let out of the discuss . I am also encouraging the people to understand their unique and overiding powers in the sequence of event and processes leading to the passage of a bill into law and therefore should be vigilant to that responsibility instead of misdirected threats of MAYHEM AND VANDETTA.
Written by
Hon.Chibuzor Aniekwe
SSA to His Excellency Gov ifeanyi ugwuanyi( Mr Fulfilment)
