NASS IS BACK TO BUSINESS.

The crisis in the House of Represen-tatives, was finally resolved on Tuesday last week when the leadership of the House bowed to the demands of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to install its preferred candidates as principal officers.

This made it possible for the Speaker, Hon Yakubu Dogara, to announce Honourables Femi Gbajabiamila as the Majority Leader, Baba Jibrin (Deputy Speaker), Alhassan Doguwa (Chief Whip) and Pally Iriase (Deputy Chief Whip). The Speaker and his group had, during the crisis, insisted that the remaining posts in the House should be shared in such a way as to enable all the six geopolitical zones in the country to have a sense of belonging. But the ruling party, with the backing of President Muhammadu Buhari, insisted on having its way, and in so doing, and for the first time since 1999, a ruling party could not accommodate one of the geopolitical zones of the country, the South East, in sharing the offices of the House of Representatives.

We encourage both the president and the ruling party to henceforth endeavour to ensure that all parts of the country are carried along, not only in the sharing of public offices, but also in the distribution of our nation’s commonwealth. The principle of federal character, which is enshrined in the Constitution, must be reflected at all times, and this must be done without regard to the voting pattern of any section or group. This is necessary for the peace, stability and unity of this country.

Besides, the strident insistence on “party supremacy”, we hope, will not tamper with the independence of the federal legislature as this will not augur well for democracy and good governance.

Now that calm has returned to the National Assembly, we urge the federal lawmakers to focus their attention on the work for which they were elected. For two months, our democracy ran without the input of its major guardian and guarantor, the legislative arm. This made it possible for events that had grave consequences for our democracy and good governance to crop up unchecked. A lot of work waited for legislative attention.

The legislature should now quickly ensure it screens and approves the nominations of the military Service Chiefs from the president, as well as the expected nomination of ministers. It must enquire into the Directorate of State Services (DSS) “invasion” of the homes of the former National Security Adviser, retired Col Sambo Dasuki and determine the propriety of Hajiya Amina Zakari remaining as the “Acting Chairman” of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) even after the expiry of her tenure.

The NASS must work hard and recover lost grounds.