President Bola Tinubu’s former campaign spokesman in the southeast, Dr. Josef Onoh has disclosed that the present move by the national Assembly to repeal the immunity clause in Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria is a timely move to save democracy and promote its entrenchment in the nation’s polity.
Onoh’s acknowledgment came on the heels of the House of Representatives second reading on the bill seeking for retention of the immunity clause for the President of Nigeria while removing it for the Vice President, the Governors and their deputies.
Hailing the legislature, Onoh stated that if the members of the National Assembly want a nation where accountability and crime will be reduced, it is pertinent that they all support the removal immunity on the executives.
“Once the immunity is removed, it will limit the issues of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, going after former Governors and the Governors will accord themselves respect and decency. It’s then that proper democratic ethos would be enshrined because immunity has destroyed democracy in Nigeria and its exploited by every administration,” Onoh stated.
He recalled that he had long maintained his stand against the insertion of immunity for Governors and their deputies, stressing that the clause currently shields state governors and their deputies from prosecution, leading to unaccountability and corruption in governance.
Onoh emphasized the need to distinguish between true leaders and those who merely loot public resources, warning that if action is not taken, future generations of Nigerian youths might view looting as a legitimate career path and violent protests as a form of social entertainment.
He highlighted the importance of repealing the immunity clause, stating that “The immunity clause in Section 308 of the Nigerian Constitution is an anomaly that breeds unaccountability and corruption in governance.”
He stressed that the clause has allowed leaders to evade responsibility, leading to widespread mismanagement of public funds.
“With the withdrawal of the petrol subsidy, money is being made available to different tiers of government, both state and local. These funds are intended to benefit and improve the livelihoods of the Nigerian masses. In my opinion, the Nigerian experience with the immunity clause has been horrendous and traumatic, leading to bad governance and underdevelopment. I’ve always maintained that constitutional immunity serves as a protection shield or a legitimate instrument of corruption and money laundering by crooks masquerading as public officials.
“In reality, the clause has not only created a class of people who are above the law, and I urge the National Assembly to repeal it and liberate Nigerians. Once this is done, it will put an end to protests and enthrone the rule of law in Nigeria.
“In as much as the governors will oppose immunity for the president alone, it is common sense to confer immunity on the president because the office of the President and decisions of the President in defence of our nation must confer the president sovereign immunity. Governors are only dealing with internal affairs, but the president deals beyond national to international affairs. The defense of immunity has rendered ineffective and impotent the machinery set up by the government through the EFCC.
“Finally, the fate of our nation is in the hands of our national assembly, this will be one of the greatest political and national milestone ever achieved since independence. We only have one country and it’s our collective responsibility to stop blaming others and represent the people because political office isn’t a job, it’s temporal and after we leave office we will all return back to the people and become part of the people. What an irony!”
