Aliyu Frowns At Removal Of Immunity Clause For President, Govs

Governor of Niger State and Chairman of Northern States Governors Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, in Minna, the state capital on Friday, faulted the resolution of the House of Representatives, which approved the removal of immunity clause for President and Governors from the constitution, saying it would cause unnecessary burden for the leaders.

According to him, if the immunity clause is removed, it will distract the leaders, shifting their focus from issues of governance to court cases.

Aliyu said, “If governors and President have no immunity on certain issues, they may waste all government resources on cases that normally should not have gone to court. There are things that we should put into consideration, many at times, cases that could have been resolved outside court are allowed to go to court.

“If the immunity clause is removed, at every move, you will find people going to court on matters that have no bearing with the issue that have been taken to court”.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday recommended the removal of immunity clause for the President and Governors after the final process of the amendment of the 1999 constitution.

The amendment was made possible following the majority vote of 252 out of the 261 members present in favor of the amendment.

Gov. Aliyu recalled that though he was initially in favor of expunging the immunity clause from the constitution, but he has realized with the benefit of hindsight, that it should not be totally removed.

“This is a dicey suituation.  When I came newly (as governor), I was one of those who said the immunity clause should be removed but with the insight I have now, I think we should look at the issues properly, not simply to remove the immunity just like that but to look at areas where decisions would be taken straightforward without any court implication”, Aliyu said.