Former lawmaker and Deputy Director-General of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign, Dino Melaye, has accused the 10th National Assembly of becoming entirely subservient to the executive arm of government.
Addressing journalists at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Melaye issued a 14-day ultimatum to federal lawmakers to check the extensive powers of President Bola Tinubu. The ADC chieftain criticized the quick legislative approval of executive requests, specifically the quick passage of the Nigeria Police Act amendment, which scaled three readings in both chambers within a single day.
Melaye, while questioning the recent proposal for a single six-year presidential tenure, warned that a lifetime presidency gradually takes root when democratic institutions designed to restrain executive powers deliberately fail to perform their oversight functions.
The former senator threatened to mobilise a massive ‘Occupy National Assembly’ protest if federal lawmakers fail to assert their constitutional independence.
“We are giving the national assembly 14 days to respond in corrective lines to all our demands and all grey areas where they have disappointed Nigeria and Nigerians; failure to do so, we will march on the national assembly, and it will be very loud,” Melaye stated.
He faulted the use of voice votes to approve the March 2025 declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, stating that the opaque procedure failed to establish whether the constitutionally required two-thirds majority was actually secured.
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