Melaye accuses NASS of failing to check Tinubu’s powers

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator Dino Melaye, has accused the leadership of the 10th National Assembly of failing to adequately check the powers of President Bola Tinubu, warning that the trend could weaken Nigeria’s democratic institutions.

Melaye, while addressing journalists on Wednesday, criticised Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas over what he described as the legislature’s failure to defend the Constitution and hold the executive accountable.

He alleged that the National Assembly was increasingly acting as an extension of the Presidency rather than an independent arm of government responsible for providing checks and balances.

In a statement titled “The 10th Assembly: The Pathway to Tinubu’s ‘Lifetime Presidency’,” Melaye examined several controversies involving the legislature, including amendments to the Police Act, the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, discrepancies in tax laws, electoral reforms, budget implementation and constitutional amendment procedures.

He clarified that his reference to a “lifetime presidency” was not a literal allegation that Tinubu had abolished presidential term limits or intended to remain in office indefinitely.

Rather, he said the concern was the gradual weakening of institutional restraints on presidential power.

“A lifetime presidency does not begin with the abolition of term limits. It begins when the institutions created to restrain a President stop restraining him,” he said.

Melaye acknowledged that cooperation between the executive and legislature was necessary for effective governance but warned that it should not amount to submission.

He said the President could propose policies and legislation, but the National Assembly must retain the authority to scrutinise, amend or reject proposals in the national interest.

Melaye cited the amendment to the Nigeria Police Act in July 2024 as an example of developments that, in his view, raised questions about legislative independence.

He said an executive bill seeking to allow an Inspector-General of Police to remain in office until the expiration of the tenure specified in his appointment letter, notwithstanding the ordinary retirement provisions, passed through all three readings in both chambers of the National Assembly on the same day.

He questioned the speed of the process, noting that the immediate beneficiary was former Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, who had previously served as Tinubu’s Chief Security Officer when the President was governor of Lagos State.

Melaye also noted that Egbetokun’s successor, Olatunji Disu, had served as Tinubu’s aide-de-camp during his tenure as Lagos governor.

However, he acknowledged that the professional relationships did not establish wrongdoing or prove that either police chief would act in a partisan manner.

Instead, he argued that the circumstances raised questions about the safeguards needed to protect the political neutrality of the police, particularly during elections.

“The point is more fundamental. Democracy should not require Nigerians merely to trust that an Inspector-General of Police will resist political indebtedness. The institutional architecture should make such indebtedness irrelevant,” he said.

The former lawmaker also criticised the National Assembly’s handling of the state of emergency declared in Rivers State by Tinubu on March 18, 2025.

He questioned the use of voice votes by both chambers to approve the proclamation, arguing that the procedure did not establish whether the constitutionally required two-thirds majority of all members had been secured.

Melaye said the issue went beyond whether lawmakers supported the emergency rule, insisting that Nigerians should be able to verify compliance with constitutional requirements whenever extraordinary presidential powers were exercised.

He said the legislature had a responsibility to ensure that decisions involving exceptional executive authority followed transparent and constitutionally valid procedures.

Melaye also revisited the controversy over discrepancies between tax laws passed by the National Assembly and versions subsequently gazetted and circulated.

He cited a January 2026 report by an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives, which reportedly identified alterations in key provisions after comparing certified true copies with earlier gazetted versions.

While acknowledging that the House leadership later released certified true copies of the laws, he argued that publishing the authentic texts did not resolve questions about who was responsible for the discrepancies.

“Correction is not accountability,” he said, demanding clarification on how the discrepancies occurred and whether anyone had been held responsible.

On electoral reform, Melaye criticised the House of Representatives’ handling of a motion to rescind its earlier position on mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results.

He referred to proceedings on February 17, 2026, during which Speaker Abbas ruled that the ayes had carried the motion despite claims that the nays were louder.

The ruling reportedly triggered protests and disorder in the chamber. Melaye said the controversy raised questions about whether parliamentary procedures accurately reflected the decisions of elected representatives.

He also questioned the omission of qualification as an express ground for challenging an election under Section 138 of the Electoral Act 2026, compared with Section 134 of the 2022 Act.

He clarified that the change did not abolish constitutional qualification requirements or legalise certificate forgery but argued that lawmakers should explain the implications of removing the ground from post-election challenges.

Melaye accused the National Assembly of failing to adequately enforce accountability over budget implementation and public expenditure.

ALSO READ: What I did to Tinubu’s supporter who begged for money — Dino Melaye

He cited Tinubu’s reported acknowledgment during the presentation of the 2026 budget that only about N3.10 trillion, representing approximately 17.7 per cent of the 2025 capital budget, had been released by the third quarter of 2025.

He argued that persistent under-implementation of approved budgets should prompt stronger legislative scrutiny rather than repeated extensions of budget timelines.

Melaye also referenced comments by Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno in July 2026, when the senator reportedly described failure to implement an Appropriation Act as a breach of law and an impeachable offence.

He challenged the National Assembly to explain what investigations, corrective measures or accountability mechanisms had followed recurring implementation shortfalls.

He further questioned the growth of Service-Wide Votes, which he said rose from approximately N4.08 trillion in 2024 to N9.31 trillion in 2025 and N12.83 trillion in 2026.

The figures amount to approximately N26.22 trillion over the three budget years.

Although he acknowledged the Budget Office’s explanation that the 2026 allocation covered identifiable obligations, including personnel costs and capital expenditure, he maintained that the scale of the funds demanded stronger oversight and public disclosure.

He also referred to International Monetary Fund estimates of discrepancies in government fiscal reporting, clarifying that the figures did not amount to an allegation by the IMF that the money had been stolen.

According to him, the central question was whether the legislature had adequately investigated government spending and ensured that public funds were accounted for.

Melaye expressed concern over a proposal announced by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele in June 2026 to introduce a bill in the 11th Senate seeking a single six-year tenure for presidents and governors.

He acknowledged that the proposal was not new and that its supporters argued it could allow elected leaders to focus on governance rather than campaigning for re-election.

However, he questioned the timing of the proposed constitutional change, particularly if it were considered after the 2027 general elections.

He stressed that no existing provision automatically extended Tinubu’s tenure by two years, adding that any such amendment would depend on its wording and transitional provisions.

Melaye urged lawmakers to ensure that any reform applied prospectively and did not extend the tenure of an incumbent elected under the existing four-year constitutional arrangement.

He warned that constitutional amendments concerning presidential tenure required careful scrutiny to prevent unintended extensions of existing mandates.

The former senator also questioned the National Assembly’s response to Tinubu’s three-week working vacation abroad between August 30 and September 29, 2026.

He cited Section 145 of the Constitution, which provides for the transmission of a written declaration when the President proceeds on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of office.

The section also provides for the National Assembly to mandate the Vice-President to act where the President fails to transmit the declaration within 21 days.

Melaye acknowledged the Presidency’s position that Tinubu continued directing national affairs remotely during his absence but argued that technological communication should not override constitutional provisions.

He called on the National Assembly to explain its interpretation of Section 145 and whether the circumstances of the President’s absence triggered the constitutional procedure.

“Institutional silence is not constitutional interpretation,” he said.

Melaye further criticised what he described as the absence of a publicly announced parliamentary investigation into the deaths of 37 people detained by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State over suspected illegal mining.

The incident occurred on September 17, 2026.

He acknowledged that the Federal Government had established an independent investigative committee and suspended officers connected to the incident, while the police had also commenced an investigation.

However, he argued that those steps did not remove the National Assembly’s independent responsibility to investigate the deaths and hold the relevant authorities accountable.

He questioned whether parliamentary committees had summoned the NSCDC leadership to explain the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Melaye said the cumulative effect of the controversies could undermine public confidence in democratic institutions.

Citing figures attributed to Afrobarometer’s latest Nigeria data, he said 64 per cent of Nigerians still preferred democracy to any other form of government.

However, he referred to the Africa Polling Institute’s 2026 Social Cohesion Report, which reportedly found that only 23 per cent of respondents expressed significant trust in the National Assembly, while 77 per cent expressed little or no trust.

He cautioned that the figures did not prove that the controversies he highlighted had caused public distrust but argued that they demonstrated the fragile state of confidence in the legislature.

Melaye said the National Assembly must defend the integrity of legislation, exercise control over public expenditure, ensure compliance with constitutional procedures and independently investigate failures within federal institutions.

He stressed that his criticism was directed at the performance of the institution rather than a personal attack on Akpabio or Abbas.

“The oath they took was to the Constitution, not to the President,” he said.

He added that the legislature’s responsibility was to strengthen democratic institutions rather than concentrate power in the hands of political incumbents.

“History may forgive a Parliament that confronts a powerful President and loses. It will be far less forgiving of a Parliament that never seriously asserts the constitutional powers it was elected to exercise,” Melaye said.