The Labour Party declared on Sunday that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government will find it difficult to achieve meaningful success in its current anti-graft war if it fails to appoint an Attorney-General of the federationand Minister of Justice without further delay.
The General Secretary of the party, Mr. Kayode Ajulo, who stated this at a news briefing in Abuja, described the AGF as the adviser to the Federal Government on legal issues and also the Chief Law Officer of the federation.
According to the party, the office of the attorney-general remained the only post among the ministers that the constitution created differently and noted that his input was essential to give focus and direction to Buhari’s anti – corruption crusade.
The LP scribe said, “The constitution recognises that the President cannot know it all. He needs some special advisers, he needs ministers. At the moment, President Buhari takes decisions based on impulse and he cannot run a government like that.
“We know that he came to power based on his anti-corruption position as a result of his principles which we agreed with but he cannot do it alone. As of today, it’s Buhari and his wife that are ruling this country; we don’t have to deceive ourselves.
“At least, we have the office of the President and that of wife of the president. That is why Nigeria government seems to be in comatose.”
Ajulo, an Abuja based legal practitioner, also noted that the police report on the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Order might not see the light of the day because there was utter disregard for lay down procedure, before and after the investigation.
He alleged that heads of anti-graft agencies were currently operating based on speculations, rumours and permutations because there was no chief legal officer to guide and give them direction based on the provisions of the country’s laws.
He said, “Who is advising the police to carry out the investigation (on forged senate rules)? Who lodged the complaints in the first place? When the country has an attorney-general, he will be able to advise on what to do.
“Now the police had done the investigation (on the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Order 2015), how will they go about it? Who has the fiat to order the prosecution of those allegedly indicted?”
The LP scribe noted that the report of the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Order 2015 would continue to be a rumour until an attorney-general, who would appropriately advise the government on what to do about it, was appointed.
He described as unnecessary the idea of setting up of a special court to handle corruption cases because, according to him, there are judges in the current judicial system, who specialise in treating corruption cases.
Ajulo added that the judiciary had a way of covertly designating the courts on their own, saying there wouldn’t be any need for overt designation by tagging some courts as corruption courts.
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