The Sustainable Democracy Agenda (SUDA), a political pressure group has advised incoming members of the 9th National Assembly to respect party supremacy in electing leaders of the two chambers.
Convener of group, Malam Ibrahim Usman, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, urged senators elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) to disregard advise by outgoing Senate President Bukola Saraki.
Usman said such advise by Saraki not to respect party supremacy is inimical to the growth and sustenance of the democratisation process in the country.
“The Saraki model of confrontation with party supremacy must be discouraged and should not be inculcated in the future generation of lawmakers in the country.
“Such model could only breed confusion and stagnation as we have witnessed in the past four years.
“By his experience, it is expected that the Senate President will admonish incoming lawmakers to practice separation of powers within the confines of mutual respect and cooperation with other arms of government in the interest of stability and sustainable development of the country.
“Unfortunately, we observed albeit with dismay that the embattled senate president, who recently lost the political battle of his life, mainly due to the recalcitrant manner by which he hijacked the Senate Presidency in 2015 against the resolution of the APC is advocating for a repeat of his rebellion,” he said.
He, therefore, urged all elected lawmakers to shun the advise not to respect party’s supremacy on the issue of electing their leaders.
Usman expressed confidence that the incoming lawmakers would not want to inherit the legacies of the 8th senate.
He insisted that party supremacy is imperative for democracy to thrive, saying that is the spirit behind the constitutional provision that every candidate standing in an election in the country must be sponsored by a political party.(NAN)
