Date: 2015-04-18

Chairman, House of Representatives committee on justice, Dr. Ali Ahmad, has noted that the National Assembly had achieved some independence that the executive cannot pocket it. However, he said the same cannot be said of state legislatures which are now regarded as appendages of governors.

Ahmad stated this on Friday when the Ilorin branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) paid him a courtesy visit in the Kwara State capital. The lawmaker who represents Ilorin East/South federal constituency in the House of Representatives was elected last week to represent Ilorin south state constituency in the house of assembly and he is likely to emerge as the next speaker.

He promised to bring his experience to bear in the state legislature, saying he would strive to raise the bar in the assembly. “There is no president, however strong, can pocket the National Assembly. So we have achieved the objectives of the framers of our constitution for a legislature serving as checks and balances to the executive but in state assemblies, we may not be able to say the same at least for majority of states,” said the legal practitioner.