Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker of House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara yesterday reported the Inspector-General Ibrahim Idris to President Muhammadu Buhari over the police boss’ refusal to appear before the upper chamber.
The Senate had invited Idris twice over the arrest of Senator Dino Melaye. But he failed to show up before the Senate in plenary.
Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of meeting, Saraki said there was need to ensure Idris respect constituted authority in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
He said: “Just talking about the issue of the police, we also raised the issue of the non-appearance of the IG at the Senate and felt that they must continue to ensure that he continues to apply obedience to the issue of constituted authority.
“We are of great concern that this is the first time this is happening and that that matter needs to be addressed considering the importance of the powers of the constitution and that there is need for police to accept that they too are under constitution and they must obey that. We raised that concern.”
He added that himself and the Speaker came to the Villa at the invitation of the President, who briefed them on his trip to the United States (U.S.) and on the issue of the 2018 Budget.
“We also talked on the issue of concerns to us, the invasion of the National Assembly, which he showed great concern and said action will be taken to investigate that.”
On how soon the budget will be passed, he said: “Well, hopefully it should be laid this week and passed early next week. But we are hoping it will be laid this week.”
Asked what the President’s response was on the invasion of the Senate, he said: “Of course, he sees it as an embarrassment to the country and that there will be a proper investigation because it is something that is not just about the National Assembly, it is about the country.
On what he is doing to improve the strain relationship between the executive and the legislature, Saraki said: “You see, we are here today, it was the initiative of Mr. President to brief us on his visit to America and to engage on discussions and I think that is a good sign. We at the National Assembly have always been ready to give all our support to the executive and we will continue to work along those lines.
“As I said, the presidential system that we operate, we sometimes have the responsibility to check the excesses of the executive. So, there will always be times we will disagree but by and large, we will always work for the interest of Nigerians and always keep on moving on.”
Asked if he would describe the meeting as peaceful, he said: “Yes, of course. I think it is good that we touch on some of the important issues, as I said it is a continuous process.”
On the treatment metted out to Melaye, Dogara said the police behaved like upgraded barbarians.
He said: “The issue of Senator Dino, of course, anything that happens to one of our members or any member of the National Assembly is of concern to us. And there is no way we can have this kind of meeting without raising that.
“This is a civilian administration; it is democracy and it is imperative and very important that all institutions of democracy operate within the ambit of the rule of law.
“There is nowhere, I have said it before, that police will behave in a democracy like a clan of tribesmen, like an upgraded barbarians sort of. So, there is need for us to act with civility.”
Asked if the issue on the planned impeachment process was raised, he said: “Well, I don’t think we have the authority to discuss issues of impeachment. Impeachment is a political offence and I don’t think we are there yet.”
When asked if the President raised the issue, he said: “No, never. It wasn’t part of the agenda.”