State of emergency: ‘That’s the law’ – Reps member, Bashiru defends voice vote

State of emergency: ‘That’s the law’ – Reps member, Bashiru defends voice vote

 A federal lawmaker, Dawodu Bashiru, has defended the
decision of the Nigerian House of Representatives to use voice vote in
approving President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers
State.

 

Many had kicked against the declaration of state of
emergency and suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and every elected
officer in Rivers State, calling on the National Assembly to reject it or
follow every due process in voting for its approval.

 

However, despite the uproar that greeted the move, the House
of Representatives approved it even casually by using a voice vote.

 

That has added another layer of controversy to the crisis in
the oil-rich state but Dawodu, representing Oshodi/Isolo of Lagos State in the
House of Representatives, does not see anything wrong with it.

 

He waved off criticisms over the lawmakers’ decision, saying
the House is empowered to determine the voting format.

 

“The point that I’m making is that it’s also constitutional
that the House is going to determine the way it operates on an everyday basis,”
he said on Channels Telelvision’s Sunday Politics, adding, “that is the law.”

 

Dawodu argued that while the lawmakers used electronic
voting in some matters, the House of Representatives is not bound to do so in
all situations.

 

“Well, it depends on what we’re doing in terms of the rule.
I’ll give you an example. When you look at the last time, we also had
electronic voting when we were going to elect the speaker [Femi Gbajabiamila].

 

“It’s different from what happened this time when we’re
going to elect the speaker [Tajudeen Abbas]. So the rules are different,” he
said.

 

“I think every day in our practice, we do voice voting. I
don’t think this particular situation is different.”

 

It is no longer news that Tinubu declared a state of
emergency in Rivers and suspended elected Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his
deputy, Ngozi Odu, alongside members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Source: State of emergency: ‘That’s the law’ – Reps member, Bashiru defends voice vote

 - NigerianEye

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