By Gabriel Enogholase
BENIN—SENATOR Yisa Braimah, representing Edo North Senatorial District in the Senate, weekend, in Benin, explained that the move by the National Assembly to include in the amended Electoral Act a provision that would make all  elected members of the National Assembly automatic executive members of their respective political parties was borne out of the need to deepen the democratic process in the country.

He also added that the process would ensure effective national representation in the organs of decision making of the respective political parties which, to him, was much desired in the country at this point in time.

Senator Braimah, who spoke in Benin, said the recent dissolution of local government councils by the governors of Ekiti, Ondo and Edo States was illegal, null and void, as their actions violated the Court of Appeal, Jos Division, which in its judgment on the same issue, said state governments had no power to dissolve local government councils.

On the move to amend the Electoral Act to ensure that elected members of the National Assembly became automatic members of the National Executive Council of political parties, Braimah said: “I want to say categorically that the provision that we are about to make an issue in the National Assembly is already applicable in some political parties in Nigeria, particularly in the ANPP.”

“In the ANPP, all members of the National Assembly are members of its National Executive. So, it is nothing new.

“This provision that we intend to put in place is also applicable in advanced democracies of the world. It is furthering the cause of democracies in the advanced democracies and when finally it is put in the Electoral Act, this will further deepen the democratic space in the country”

Commenting on the recent dissolution of local government councils by the governments of Ekiti, Edo and Ondo states, Senator Braimah said their actions, apart from being illegal, null and void, also contravened the Jos Division of the Count of Appeal which held that state governors had no power to do so.

According to him,” the recent dissolution of local government councils by the Edo , Ekiti and Ondo state governments and appointing Caretaker Committees are illegitimate and illegal. Their actions are illegal because there is a subsisting Court of Appeal judgment on the matter concerning the dissolution of local governments”.

“I want to make reference to the case of the Attorney –General of Plateau State versus Gollog (2007) where the matters of the dissolution of local governments on the one hand and the nomination or appointment of Caretaker Committees on the hand were dispensed with by the judgment of that Court of Appeal”.

He said that the Court of Appeal held that “Although the House of Assembly had power to make laws, those laws must be in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution in particular Section 7 (1) of the Nigerian Constitution.

The House of Assembly has no power to make any law given the governor to truncate a democratically elected local government council”.

He there appealed to the states involved to return back to office the elected council executives as soon as possible since there was no other judgment that has overruled that particular judgment in the country.