The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, says the National assembly has no constitutional powers to summon President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Malami stated that the president cannot be summoned to give an account of operational use of the armed forces.
In his words; “National Assembly has no constitutional power to envisage or contemplate a situation where the president would be summoned by the national assembly on the operational use of the armed forces.”
The AGF’s comments are coming amidst the president’s scheduled appearance before the House of Assembly to give an account of the nation’s efforts towards combating the rising spate of insecurity and economic challenges.
There were, however, insinuations on Wednesday that President Buhari would not be appearing before the joint session of the NASS on Thursday.
This became rife after Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, who presided over plenary of the House of Representatives deliberately skipped the issue relating to the admittance of the president listed on the order paper of the House.
The issue as listed on the order paper reads: “Admittance into the Chamber: Hon. Garba Alhassan Ado: “That the House, pursuant to Order 19, Rule 8 (1) and (2) of the Standing Orders, do admit into the Chamber, the Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Service Chiefs and other dignitaries for the purpose of receiving an Address by the President and Commander–In –Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the Security situation in the country.”
The Speaker did not offer an explanation on why he skipped the issue which requires the endorsement of members of the 360 lower legislative chamber.
