The Senate yesterday opposed President Muhammadu Buhari’s deployment of troops to The Gambia without approval of the National Assembly.
The Federal Government had deployed troops to The Gambia, if President Yahya Jammeh refused to leave office and handover to President-elect, Adama Barrow by January 19.
Speaking during plenary, Senator Chukwuka Utazi (PDP-Enugu), who raised a Point of Order said that President Buhari violated the constitution by deploying troops to Gambia without approval of the National Assembly.
”Section 5 of the Constitution stipulates “subject to the provisions of this constitution, the executive powers of the federation shall be vested in Mr President.
“Section 4 notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, a President shall not declare a state of war between the Federation and another country except with the sanction of a resolution of both Houses of the National Assembly sitting in a joint session.
”Except with the prior approval of the Senate, no member of the Armed Forces of the federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria.
He said that it was “an affront to the Constitution to ask that this country will go on a warfare in another country.”
”And we have failed even when the Senate has been co-operating with the executive. But let it be on record that if anything of this nature happens in this country, that this National Assembly has to be informed properly in writing.”
Saraki, while responding, faulted Utazi’s claims and argued that President Buhari was still acting within the confines of the law. He said President Buhari can deploy troops, as long as the operation does not exceed seven days.
Quoting Section 5(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, Saraki maintained that until the expiration of seven days, no one can fault the action of the President.
Saraki argued: “The point made is noted, but the explanation concerning the constitution is confusing. I believe the constitution gives room for the president, within seven days for such an action to come before us.”
Section 5(5) quoted by Saraki reads: “Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, the President, in consultation with the National Defence Council, may deploy members of the armed forces of the Federation on a limited combat duty outside Nigeria if he is satisfied that the national security is under imminent threat or danger. Provided that the President shall within seven days of actual combat engagement, seek the consent of the Senate and the Senate shall thereafter give or refuse the said consent within fourteen days. “
Saraki was countered by the Deputy President of the Senate, Ekweremadu. He warned that as parliamentarians, it is wrong to subject the Senate to ridicule, adding that setting a bad precedence will hurt them in the future.
Also relying on Section 5(4)(b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, Ekweremadu said the President cannot deploy troops outside the country without any prior approval from the National Assembly.
Section 5(4)(b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended reads: “Except with the prior approval of the Senate, no member of the armed forces of the Federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria.”
According to the deputy senate president, “This has nothing to do with war and we are not at war with anybody, but for you to send the Nigerian armed forces outside Nigeria, this Senate must be told. But it is happening in The Gambia. They need the approval of the Senate because that is not war.
“War comes in when you are talking about section 5 of the constitution and the president does not need our approval. He can go to war on our behalf and come back later. But for you to deploy them to The Gambia, you must seek the approval of the Senate,” Ekweremadu added.
No official position was taken by the Senate on the issue. Saraki did not allow other lawmakers to contribute to the debate. He did not rule either on the issue, but moved ahead to accommodate other businesses of the day.
Contributing, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu said “the operational one as it affects us here is the (b) which says except with the prior approval of the Senate, no member of the armed forces of the federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria’’.
”This has to do with war and we are not at war with anybody, but for you to send the Nigerian armed forces outside Nigeria, this senate must be told.
Ekweremadu said that though it was happening in the Gambia, they needed the approval of the Senate because that was not war.
He explained that a war situation was when you are talking about Section 5 and the president does not need our approval.
”He can go to war on our behalf and come back later. But for you to deploy them to Gambia you must seek the approval of the Senate.’’
Meanwhile, Adama Barrow took the oath of office as Gambia’s President yesterday at its embassy in neighboring Senegal, calling for international support as regional troops prepared to back him in a showdown with incumbent Yahya Jammeh, who has refused to step down.
Barrow’s appeal that could trigger a military push into Gambia by West Africa’s ECOWAS bloc, which has said it is ready to remove Jammeh by force if necessary.
Jammeh, in power since a 1994 coup and whose mandate ended overnight, initially conceded defeat to Barrow following a Dec. 1 election before back-tracking, saying the vote was flawed. Overnight talks to persuade him to stand down failed, despite his increasing political isolation.
“This is a day no Gambian will ever forget,” Barrow said after taking the oath, which was administered by the president of Gambia’s bar association. “Our national flag will now fly high among the most democratic nations of the world.
“I hereby make an explicit appeal to ECOWAS, the (African Union) and the UN… to support the gov and people of the Gambia in enforcing their will, restoring their sovereignty and constitutional legitimacy,” he said.
ECOWAS and the African Union have said they will recognize Barrow from Thursday.
Senegal’s army, which has deployed hundreds of soldiers at the Gambian border, said on Wednesday it would be ready to cross into its smaller neighbor, which it surrounds, from midnight. Ghana has also pledged troops.
A senior military source in Nigeria, which pre-positioned war planes and helicopters in Dakar, told Reuters that regional forces would only act once Barrow had been sworn in.
Barrow gave the oath in a tiny room in Gambia’s embassy in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, and many of those present broke into the Gambian national anthem once he had completed it.
Outside the building on a residential street amid a heavy security presence, dozens of Gambians listened to the ceremony through loudspeakers.
“It’s very sad to be swearing in a president in someone else’s country. I am happy and sad at the same time,” said Fatou Silla, 33, a businesswoman who fled Gambia with her son a week ago.
Fearing unrest, thousands of Gambians have fled the country, the United Nations estimates, and diplomats said its Security Council would on Thursday vote on a resolution backing ECOWAS’s efforts.
A senior aide to Barrow said that, once sworn in, arrangements would be made for him to return to Gambia though it was unclear how he would travel.
At a bar in the Gambian capital Banjul’s popular Senegambia strip, people crowded around a television to watch the swearing in and cheered and danced when it was over.
“I’m so happy there’s a new government,” said a cashier who only gave her name as Fama. “We have been suffering for 22 years and now things will be different.”
During the brief inauguration speech, Barrow asserted his new role as commander and chief of Gambia’s armed services, ordering soldiers to stay calm and remain in their barracks. Those who did not would be considered rebels, he said.
As tour companies pressed on with the evacuation of hundreds of European holidaymakers, shops, market stalls and banks in Banjul remained closed while police circulated in trucks and soldiers manned checkpoints.
It was unclear what Jammeh’s next move would be.
He faces almost total diplomatic isolation and a government riddled by defections. In the biggest loss yet, Vice President Isatou Njie Saidy, who has held the role since 1997, quit on Wednesday, a government source and a family member told Reuters.
Gambia’s long, sandy beaches have made it a prime destination for tourists but Jammeh, who once vowed to rule for “a billion years”, has also earned a reputation for rights abuses and stifling dissent.
He has ignored pressure to step aside and offers of exile.
However, Senegalese troops moved across the border into The Gambia yesterday, an army spokesman said after the UN Security Council backed West African efforts to ensure that the country’s defeated leader Yahya Jammeh hands over power.
“They entered this afternoon” Colonel Abdoul Ndiaye told newsmen after Adama Barrow was sworn in as Gambian President at his country’s embassy in Dakar despite Jammeh’s refusal to stand down.