BY IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI

ABUJA—As insinuation over his possible ambition in 2015 mounts, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Tuesday, took a subtle swipe at the presidency, insisting that Nigerians have the right to criticize the policies of government.

Tambuwal who made the assertion at a national retreat on human rights, organized by the House of Representatives in conjunction with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, PLAC, maintained that “people must be able to criticize the policy of government without the fear of having their rights or privileges abridged.”

In his speech read by the Majority Leader of the House of Reps, Mulikat Akande, the Speaker, noted that “citizens deserve to have basic amenities, be able to live like human beings and feel secured in their own country.

“While some appreciable efforts have been made in this regard, we feel there is still a big room for improvement. So much more deserves to be done to put our country at the top of the human rights pole. This is why we should not relent in our effort to take our people to the promised-land.”

The Speaker said there was need to amend Chapters 2 and 4 of the 1999 constitution.

Meanwhile, barely 15 minutes after the Speaker finished his speech, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Nwogu, mounted the rostrum and countered him, stressing that though Nigerians have a right to criticize the government, he argued that such criticism must be constructive.

He said: “It is not enough for anyone to just come out and criticize the government or encourage others to do so. This administration is one that has a listening ear, so, I urge you to come out with your advice or constructive criticism that will move the government forward, but not to denigrate the occupiers of positions,” he added.

It would be recalled that President Jonathan had earlier declared himself as the most criticized President in the world.

Meantime, the Labour Minister, disclosed that President Jonathan has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the Baga killings and has vowed to take measure of justice against anyone found culpable or any soldier that failed to follow rules of engagement.

He said, “we should desist from throwing figures. If we are deciding that inquiry should be conducted, then we should allow them to come out with the official figure of victims.”

The House of Reps, through its Committee on Human Rights, called for a thorough investigation into the Baga incident with a view to arresting and prosecuting soldiers responsible for the killings.

The Committee further condemned the continued loss of the lives of innocent Nigerians due to the activities of terrorists in the country.

The Chairman of the Committee, Beni Lar , lamented that over 4,000 people have been killed by terrorists in the past few years.

According to her “we violate a fundamental principle, respect for the integrity of the person, which include freedom from arbitrary or unlawful derivation of life”.