Recall lawmakers who don’t represent you well – Bishops

The Diocesan Bishop, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Diocese of Egba, Ogun State, Rt. Reverend Emmanuel Adekunle, has advised the electorate to be courageous enough to recall any lawmaker in the National Assembly who does anything contrary to their wishes and aspirations.

He said this in Abeokuta at a media briefing on the 2016 diocesan synod of the church, which began on Friday with the theme, ‘The Beatitudes.’

Adekunle equally said events in the Senate in the past few weeks informed the need for Nigerians to be vigilant, as it appeared that some of the lawmakers were in the legislature for selfish interests and not to make life better for the people.

He said, “It is sad that many of our lawmakers in the National Assembly, most especially in the Senate, were there for selfish interests.

“The recent happenings in the Senate are shameful. I think Nigerians should be courageous enough to recall any of their representatives who are not representing them well, either in the Senate or in the House of Representatives.”

The bishop also condemned Nigerian public office holders for wanting to hold on to power at all cost, even when they were on trial for corruption.

He said, “It is only in Nigeria that public officials undergoing trial will clinch to their offices. In sane societies, once any public official is involved in a scam, and he or she is undergoing trial, he or she resigns and gives room for fair trial. By clinching to their offices, they are using that to intimidate those agencies trying them.

“Again, on the move to amend the Acts establishing the Code of Conduct Bureau and (the Code of Conduct) Tribunal, I will describe their action as that of shameless people, trying to cover their tracks. They are not doing it to save only one person but to cover their own tracks as well. It is quite shameful.

“I think the constituencies where these lawmakers emerged from, should begin to think of how to recall them back home.”

Similarly, retired Bishop of Akure Anglican Diocese, Bishop Gbolanle Gbonigi, supported the idea of recalling lawmakers found guilty of corrupt practices.

He however stated that the process of recalling was difficult in Nigerian democratic system.

He said, “I support the idea of recalling corrupt lawmakers from the National Assembly wholeheartedly. But it is one thing to say that they should be recalled, it is another thing for it to be done.

“It is not only these people that are corrupt, they came out from all of us and very many politicians are corrupt in Nigeria. If you say they should be recalled, who will recall them? They bribed the people to get to the House and they give part of the money they steal to some people in their constituencies. So, it is not as easy as one would think.”