“…Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. It may be reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But, what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflection on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls of government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men… experience has taught Mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions”. –James Madison
In the past few days in Ebonyi state, tongues have been set wagging over the motion for the impeachment of the governor of the state Chief Martin Elechi passed by the state House of Assembly to commence the impeachment process. Many people who followed the steps taken before the impeachment motion have hailed the decision while a few others think otherwise. The House has anchored the decision to impeach the governor on what members described as “gross misconduct and breaches of the Constitution”. It is not the first time a governor is being investigated for impeachment in our nation since return to democracy in 1999; states like Oyo, Ekiti had witnessed impeachments of their governors. Impeachment being part of the oversight functions of the Legislature is meant to check the excesses of the governors.
Yusuph Olaniyonu writing in the ThisDay Newspaper of November 17, 2006, noted that “Section 188 is included in our constitution by its makers to prevent the chief executives of our 36 states and their deputies from misbehaving. This misbehavior could border on misuse of the enormous powers at their disposal or misapplication of the huge resources of the state. The Section is also to protect the citizenry from a governor who may have forgotten the contents of his or her oath of office. The impeachment process is also expected to be one of the instruments of affecting the doctrine of Separation of Powers in a modern presidential system. The legislature which is a branch of government relies on the impeachment process to check the excesses of the executive and to keep them in line. More importantly, the impeachment process is expected to be an antidote to the iron-cast protection granted the president, governors and their deputies under Section 308. The immunity clause protects the beneficiaries from civil or criminal prosecution. The elected officials mentioned in the section cannot even be compelled to appear in court to give evidence. Neither can they be arrested or detained”.
The Legislature is one of the institutions in a democracy which is highly revered because it has the constitutional powers to hold governments accountable to the electorates. It is for this reason that the scrutiny of the executive is perhaps one of the most important functions of any Legislature. A condition for the exercise of executive power in a constitutional democracy is that the executive is checked by being held accountable to an organ of government distinct from it. This function has become especially critical given the enormous powers wielded by executive arm of government in an era of growing concern for accountability and transparency.
That is why K. C. Wheare acknowledged that the most important role of a modern parliament is ‘making the government (to) behave’, and in that regard democrats usually look to Legislature to ensure that the executive is kept under scrutiny and prevented from abusing its powers.
There is no doubt that in most democracies in developing societies like Nigeria, the attempt by the Legislature to discharge its constitutional duties has become a source of friction and disagreement between legislatures and executives especially those emerging from Military dictatorships.
In Nigeria, the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended provides for a Legislature that is designed to effectively and actively contribute to building and consolidating democracy, which is an important aspect of our democracy where elected representatives of the people should oversee government actions and ensure that government remains accountable. The 1999 constitution in full expression to this principle provided for an exclusive power of investigation and scrutiny by the National Assembly over the executive under sections 88 and 89 and that of the House of Assembly in sections 128 and 129, so that the legislature can serve as an institution of restraint on the executive arm of government and be an arena for crystallizing popular participation in the broad governmental process. This position has been held by eminent scholars in the field of social science, as the celebrated views of James Madison and Woodrow Wilson. James Madison in the Federalist Paper 51 enunciated the significance of establishing “auxiliary precautions” in public affairs, and thus foresaw the necessity for a steady scrutiny of government. According to him:
“…Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. It may be reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But, what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflection on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls of government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men… experience has taught Mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions”.
But perhaps the most pointed espousal which has automated modern day discourse on the imperatives of scrutiny of government affairs was provided by Woodrow Wilson. Writing under the title, Congressional Government: a Study in American Politics, he stated inter-alia:
“It is the proper duty of representative body to look diligently into every affair of government and to talk much about what it sees. It is meant to be the eyes and the voice, and to embody the wisdom and will of its constituents. Unless congress have and use every means of acquainting itself with the act and the disposition of the administrative agents of the government, the country must be helpless to learn how it is being served.”
In the main, the scrutiny of the executive, or what is largely regarded in our extant legislative process as oversight, encapsulates a system of checks and balance that requires the legislature to keep a check on the executive so as to ensure it functions within the bounds of law and in an efficient and transparent manner. To this end the scrutiny of the executive includes a wide range of activities undertaken by the legislature to monitor, review and encourage compliance with constitutional obligation by the executive.
It is in furtherance of this that the State Houses of Assembly is constitutionally authorized to appropriate funds; approve nominees of the Governor, impeach the Governor or Deputy Governor, among other functions. Thus constitutionally, the State House of Assembly has Power to Investigate – as stipulated in Section 128 of the Constitution. The House is empowered by resolution of the House to direct or cause to be directed an investigation into: any matter or thing with respect to which it has power to make laws, and the conduct of affairs of any person, authority, state ministry or government departments charged or intended to be charged with the duty of or responsible for –executing or administering laws enacted by the State Assembly, and disbursing or administering monies appropriated or to be appropriated by the House.
In exercising the powers, the House is empowered under 129 of the Constitution to procure all such evidence, written or oral, direct or circumstantial, as it may think necessary or desirable, and examine all persons as witnesses whose evidence may be material or relevant to the subject matter; require such evidence to be given on oath; summon any person in the state to give evidence at any place or produce any document or other thing in his possession or under his control, and examine him as a witness and require him to produce any document or other thing in his possession or under his control, subject to all just exceptions; and issue a warrant to compel the attendance of any person who, after having been summoned to attend, fails, refuses or neglects to do so and does not excuse such failure, refusal or neglect to the satisfaction of the House or the committee in question, and order him to pay all costs which may have been occasioned in compelling his attendance or by reason of his failure, refusal or neglect to obey summons, and also to impose such fine as may be prescribed for any such failure, refusal, neglect; and any fine so imposed shall be recoverable in the same manner as a fine imposed by court of law. This includes powers to receive the Audited Accounts of State Government under Section 125 (2) of the Constitution and Power of Appropriation stipulated in Sections 121 to 122 of the Constitution.
The Power of Impeachment or Removal from office of the Governor or Deputy Governor by the House is provided in Section 188 of the Constitution. According to the Constitution, “The Governor or Deputy Governor of a State may be removed from office in accordance with the provisions of this section. Section 188 (2) (a, b, c) and subsections (2 to 10) provided for the various steps that will be taken for legal impeachment of the Governor or his Deputy. There is no need embarking on the repetition of the Sections here. What is paramount is to establish that the Ebonyi State House of Assembly has powers under the constitution to impeach the governor if found guilty on the allegations raised against him.
The motion passed by 15 members of the House which is more than Two- thirds required by law stipulates that the governor committed several “acts of gross misconduct, which, we are convinced are in clear violations of the constitution…” The motion went further to list 8 allegations against the governor constituting the misconduct and breaches of the constitution to include: appointment of Coordinators and causing them to take oaths of office without reference to the House Rules No. 007 of 2007; appointment and taking of oaths of office of Caretaker Committee Chairmen for Local Government Councils without regard to the 1999 Constitution as amended; appointment and taking of oaths by Commissioners into listed state Commissions as against the constitutional stipulations in Sections 197 and 198 of the 1999 Constitution as amended; Registration of Two companies: Ebonyi State Company Ltd and Ebonyi Oil and Gas Ltd in the name of Ebonyi state but with names of Arch. Edward Nkwegu being highest share holder and Elechi Elechi, Governor’s son and funding same with government resources. The awarded of contracts for International Market to Edon Nigeria Ltd a company belonging to the Labour Party candidate Edward Nkwegu which was abandoned half way even when over N3.9billion was already released to the company among others.
Looking at the details of the violations of the law as listed in the petition to the House, there is no doubt that the House is waking up to its constitutional responsibility even if belatedly. When the investigations are carried out and proved and appropriate sanctions meted to the offender whether by way of impeachment or suspension from office, the holders of public offices in Ebonyi in particular will begin to understand that a breach of oath of office is an abuse of privilege of governance. The essence of the law is to check the excesses of public office holders and every other person in the society. The argument advanced by those opposed to the Motion relying on Section188 (4) may not be tenable because with 6 seats declared vacant by the State House of Assembly in line with Section 109 (1) (g), the House has a total number of 18 and two-thirds majority of 18 members is 12. Section 188 (4) states that “A motion of the House of Assembly that allegation be investigated shall not be declared having been passed unless it is supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of all members of the House of Assembly”. Until INEC conducts new election to fill the vacant seats in the House, “all members of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly” is 18 in the present circumstance. The Supreme Court Ruling in the case of Mike Diaplung Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly versus Joshua Dariye in a similar matter in Plateau State on 27th April, 2007 is a good example. Ebonyi State House of Assembly is on the right track.
