ANPP Urges Removal Of Immunity Clause

The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) last Thursday called for the removal of the immunity clause from the country’s constitution to check abuse of power and corrupt practises by political office holders.

The National Publicity Secretary, Mr Emma Eneukwu, who made the party’s position known in an interview with The Tide in Abuja.

Eneukwu said the party was in support to remove the immunity clause because a lot of people hid under it to commit serious offences.

He said the country had gone beyond the level of excluding some people from facing the consequences of their actions while in office in the name of immunity.

The party scribe said that when you immune some people who were supposed to lead by example, then you were simply encouraging the persons to get involved in illegal activities.

“ Removal of immunity clause means that you are giving the people the power to sue and take some legal actions against whoever contravened the law.

“ And the law is sacred so when you say that some people are immune from certain things they do, it means that the law is no longer sacred,’’ he added.

He expressed optimism that if immunity clause was removed, corruption could be tackled head long and people would be made to face the full length of the law for their actions.

“ People are saying Nigeria is corrupt, why will Nigeria not be corrupt when you place immunity on certain people while in office.

“ But when the immunity clause is removed and the occupant of these offices know that they are no longer protected, they will have change of attitude.

“ This is when Nigerians will know that the Federal Government is ready to fight corruption,” he said.

He urged the Federal Government to enact a law that would make it compulsory for political office holders to declare their assets before and while in the office.

He said that would enable Nigerians to assess them and to know if they had acquired anything illegal while in the office.

According to him, removal of immunity clause would not only reduce corruption in the land, but also sanitise other areas of the nation’s institutions.