The House of Representatives was thrown into confusion on Tuesday following arguments on powers of the President to deploy the country’s military during elections.
The arguments arose during debates on a bill seeking to further amend the Electoral Act, No. 6 of 2010, which their Senate counterparts passed last week Thursday.
The House Deputy Leader, Leo Ogor (Delta/PDP) and the Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Albert Sam Tsokwa (Taraba/PDP) insisted that the power of the President to deploy troops was backed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 8 of the Armed Forces Act.
According to Tsokwa, the Armed Forces Act particularly gave the President and a proxy, powers to deploy troops for “operational use”.
This position drew a harsh response from the House Minority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos/APC). Efforts by the presiding Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, to douse the situation failed as Ogor and Gbajabiamila continued to trade harsh words over the matter.
While acknowledging that the constitution allows the President to deploy the military, Gbajabiamila insisted that the powers were not “absolute”.
He stated that the President can only exercise such powers subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.
The bill under debate seeks to ensure a level playing field for all participants in the electoral process. It also seeks to ensure a more transparent process of conducting elections.
Samson Osagie (Edo/APC), who supported the bill, urged the House to address abuses in the issue of substitution of candidates after primaries or in the event of death or withdrawal of a candidate.
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