The National Assembly, on Tuesday stopped short of announcing major actions against Tunde Bakare, Serving Overseer of The Citadel Global Community Church, over his acerbic criticism of the national legislature, which he described as lame duck under President Bola Tinubu.
Labelling it as the worst since 1999, the cleric, who had used his Easter Sunday sermon to condemn how the current 10th NASS allowed itself to be decapitated by Tinubu, describing it as the 48th part of the President’s cabinet, a development, he said had caused serious dislocation to the nation’s democratic ethos.
Hear the cleric: “In 2006, the fourth National Assembly had the audacity to reject the tenure extension bid of a seating President. In 2010, the sixth National Assembly, summoned the courage to stand against the power-hijacking cabal and restore Nigeria to the part of constitutionality, by invoking the doctrine of Necessity. In 2011, the House of Representatives of the Seventh National Assembly, had the courage to elect its leaders as did the Senate of the eighth National Assembly in 2015, defying executive interference.
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“This National Assembly, the 10th, has by its unconstitutional endorsement of the President’s abuse of powers, proven to be the most spineless in our recent history. Through its actions and inactions, the National Assembly has, in effect, become the 48th member of the president’s cabinet.”
But in a pushback on Tuesday, Yemi Adaramodu, Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, accused the cleric of bias and “crossing the line” in his commentary.
He did not explain what he meant by crossing the line, he said in a statement: “While the Senate respects the right of every citizen – regardless of station – to express views on the state of the nation, we are constrained to respond when such commentary crosses the line into unwarranted invective and misleading assertions that risk eroding public trust in democratic institutions.
“Such commentary crosses the line into unwarranted invective and misleading assertions that risk eroding public trust in democratic institutions. We view his corrosive criticisms of the National Assembly as a biased and political ecumenical homily.”
Dismissing Bakare as speaking from frustration, he added: “Casting aspersions on the National Assembly, based on personal frustrations, ideological differences, or as positioning ahead of possible future political alignments are not only unfair but also counterproductive to our collective democratic journey.
“The challenges facing our country require dialogue anchored on truth, mutual respect, and a commitment to nation-building, not polarizing rhetoric that undermines confidence in our democratic institutions.
We are confident that, in time, with a nuanced review of the performance of the 10th national assembly — within the context of the exigencies of this time and season — Pastor Bakare may, at some point in the future, commend us for acting in the best interest of the people of Nigeria, in line with our constitutional mandate.”
