2027: Atiku’s presidency won’t determine Senate President, Reps Speaker — Melaye

The Deputy Director-General of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council, Dino Melaye, has said a government led by Atiku Abubakar will not determine who becomes Senate President or Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Melaye said the ADC would allow lawmakers to elect their leaders independently, insisting that the party was committed to democratic principles and an independent National Assembly.

He stated this while answering questions on the oversight mechanisms the ADC would introduce to track government payments, fund releases and beneficiaries during an appearance on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Monday.

“To start with, an Atiku presidency will not determine who is going to be the Senate president, the president of the Senate, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives,” he said.

“Atiku is a Democrat. ADC is a very democratic political party. So we are going to allow the people to elect their leaders.”

Melaye argued that allowing lawmakers to choose their leaders would promote legislative independence and strengthen the National Assembly’s oversight of the executive arm of government.

“And I told you that wherever you have the members electing their leaders, there is some modicum of independence,” he said.

“So to start with, the ADC will make sure that the National Assembly is truly independent, and if the National Assembly is truly independent, that will drive their oversight functions over the Executive.”

On the mechanisms for scrutinising government spending, the ADC campaign official said relevant National Assembly committees would be empowered to question government officials and monitor expenditure.

He specifically identified the Committees on Establishment, Finance, and Budget and Planning as possible channels for investigating government spending and ensuring accountability.

“The Committee on Establishment is responsible for questioning this type of spenders because they have direct oversight function over the State House. The committee on finance is there. The committee on budget and planning is there,” Melaye said.

“So you can use any of these committees at least to ask questions.”