Sunny Anderson Osiebe...
The Bill for an Act to
Provide for the Inauguration of the President and Vice President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, also known as Presidential Inauguration Bill, 2016, was
read a second time by the Senate in plenary, Thursday.
The Bill, sponsored by
the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, seeks to align
presidential inauguration in the country with international best practices as
obtained in the United States of America, USA, and many other democracies.
Leading the debate on the
general principles of the Bill, Senator Ekweremadu explained that the Bill
seeks to move the inauguration of the President and the Vice President from the
Eagles Square to within the precincts of the National Assembly, but without
precluding the Chief Justice of Nigeria from swearing the President and Vice
President.
Addressing the Senate, Ekweremadu
explained: “Mr. President, Distinguished Colleagues, you would recall that
Nigeria transformed from operating a Parliamentary- Westminster system- to the
extant Presidential system modeled after the U.S. Presidential system of
government in 1979 and continued to the 4th Republic from 1999 to
date.
“You would also recall that from the commencement
of the 4th Republic to 2015 the inauguration or swearing-in of the
newly elected President and the Vice President of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria had been taking place at the Eagle Square. This practice of inauguration of the
President and the Vice President at the Eagle Square is at variance with what
transpires in the United States and other democracies where their Presidents
and Vice Presidents are inaugurated within the precincts of their Parliaments.
“Thus, as you can see, this is a misnomer. The popular or international best practice is
for the leadership of the Executive to be inaugurated within the premises of
the Legislature, who are perceived as the true representatives of the
people. Suffice it to say that this
practice does not preclude or extricate the Chief Justice of Nigeria from
administering the Oath of Office on the two”.
The Deputy President of
the Senate, noted that the Bill further provides for the inauguration ceremony
of the President-elect and the Vice President-elect to take place at the Arcade
of the National Assembly, where the people are represented.
He said it also provides for
the setting up of a Presidential Inauguration Committee, which shall consist of
a serving Member of the National Assembly as Chairman, six members drawn from
the Legislature, two from the Executive, two from the Judiciary, and two from
the Civil Society.
Section 7 provides for order
of Procession with the President leading, while former Presidents, former Heads
of State, former Heads of Federal Government, former Vice Presidents, Former
Senate Presidents, former Speakers of the House of Representatives, and former
Chief Justices of the Federation, follow, accordingly.
Ekweremadu also explained
that the Bill further provides for the President-elect and Vice President-elect
to be the last to come, accompanied by their immediate families and also to be
supported by their spouses, serving President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
the House of Representatives at the point of swearing-in.
The Senate in plenary
presided over by the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, approved for the
Bill to be read a second time and subsequently referred it to the Senate
Committee on Special Duties for further processing. The Committee is to report
back to the Senate in four-week time.
Meanwhile, the
Presidential Inauguration Bill was earlier sponsored by Senator Jubril Aminu in
2009 and passed by the 6th National Assembly, but did not receive
presidential assent.
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