Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly (DTHA), Rt. Hon. Victor Onyeka Ochei, on Monday fielded questions on a television programme, monitored by Nigerian Pilot’s correspondent, ANASTACIA AGUNWA in Asaba. He spoke on sundry issues, including the relationship between the House and the executive arm of the state government, the Anti-kidnapping Law passed by the DTHA and related issues. Excerpts:
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elta State House of Assembly has introduced the death penalty for kidnapping; what is the reason for this and will it help in the fight against the crime?
The law has a good purpose; you cannot completely rid the society of crime, even if all crimes carry the death penalty. But as for whether the penalty will serve as a deterrent, I have no doubt about that; it will serve as a deterrent. If you are a kidnapper, if you are to face the death sentence, you know the consequence of your action, if you engage in it. You are making a choice at that point.
Was the leadership of the House not scared into making the law for the protection of the elites who are largely the targets of the kidnappers?
No, we were not scared. We acted, in the overall interest of the state and our people. Section 14 of the Constitution says that the primary function of the government shall be the security and wellbeing of the people. By the same token, Section 47 of the same Constitution empowers State Houses of Assembly to make laws for the good governance of the state. Taken together, both sections provide the predicate under which the DTHA acted, because kidnapping is a security issue which affects the welfare and wellbeing of our people. As for whether it is not meant the elite who are largely targeted by the kidnappers,I know that you know that is not true. You hear of kidnapping involving mostly the known persons-those are in the eye of the media so to speak, that is probably those you call the elite.
But the truth is that many people are taken by the kidnappers; some are kidnapped for as little as N100, 000 ransom, or in some cases, for low caliber recharge cards.
Could this not have been better handled by the enhanced empowerment of the police?
The police are a necessary part of the measures to respond to the incidence of crime, of which kidnapping is an element, anywhere. To that extent, the anti-kidnapping law is all-encompassing. The fact of DTHA passing the law does not mean that other existing measures should cease to apply, or should be relaxed. The putting in place of the law in place is sufficient deterrent to those involved already or those likely to get involved. Many people tend to think that the death penalty is the only provision of the law.
For example, for the landlord, whose premises serves as custody for the kidnappers’ victim and refuge or shelter for the kidnappers, he loses the building to the government, which is empowered to destroy it, under the law. Every landlord should know his /her tenants to a reasonable extent. We are by that law making the issue of security everybody’s business, because, of a truth, that is what it is –not that of the police alone. That is why, in communities, for instance, town unions, traditional rulers (as custodians of the people) are equally involved, as are even residents who are expected to report on crime and criminal activities.
Security is not for the police alone but for everybody.
It has been said that State Houses of Assembly are rubber stamps of the executive arm of government. What is your position on the independence of state legislatures as once proposed by the National Assembly?
By the constitution, we are separate. The Constitution says that the three arms of the government should be separate. In Delta State, they are well separated, but the walls of separation are permeable to allow for the level of interaction that would simultaneously attain two things-preserve the interest of the people of the state, as well as safeguard the integrity of the different arms of the government.
If you speak in relation to the law on kidnapping, we are lucky to have a governor in Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, who is a true democrat and lives out the democratic principles. He said that, in line with his conviction as a medical doctor and respect for the sanctity of human life, he would not assent to the bill on kidnapping. But he also respects the position of DTHA, which had to rely on Section 100 to pass it into law. We explored that Section of the Constitution to do that- and that section has been used by other state legislatures elsewhere . The bottom line is that the governor, as a true democrat,respects the principle of separation of power and we, in DTHA are not at war with the governor, whom we all hold in great esteem. The fact that the governor, based on sound reason of personal conviction did not assent to the bill, does not mean the law will not be effective. As for the principle of independence or autonomy of the legislature as proposed by the NASS in the past it had difficulty flying in the light of the position of state governors on the matter then.
This is because, in a sense, then, some state legislatures did not fully follow the due process in respect of some of their critical actions, including impeachment. Governors had good cause to be wary, if not afraid, of the proposal for autonomy for the legislature then, because no one wants to travel and hear that he has been removed, in some cases, in hazy circumstances, via impeachment. But now, our democracy is deepening and I am sure that if the matter is raised now, it will have a better chance of success.
Why has the DTHA not made a law on crude oil theft, given that it is an oil-producing state and its Governor, Dr. Uduaghan is Chairman of the National Economic Council on Crude Oil Theft?
The first issue is that crude oil and related matters are on the exclusive legislative list, meaning in effect that we cannot, as a state legislature, legislate on it. But,as legislators, when these things happen. In our constituencies, and we have evidence, what we do is to report to the office of our governor because, like you rightly said, he is the head of the presidential council on crude oil theft.
However, I think that what is needed here is to break up the exclusive list and allow state legislatures handle some of the issues therein.
The proposed conference of Nigeria’s ethnic groups is imminent; what is your position on that?
Yes, we need to talk; we have for long believed that we are an amalgam of disharmonious properties. An amalgam is the weakest form of bond known to science and we need to discuss the properties of the amalgam, particularly as to we should stay harmoniously. There should be no-go areas, and every region should bring to talk issues bothering it.
Still on DTHA and the Anti-Kidnapping Law; why do you think it will be effective and what laws have you made for the benefit of ordinary people?
I made this point earlier that it is completely impossible to rid the society of crime no matter what measures are in place. In respect of the anti-kidnapping law, shortly after the law came into effect, someone was kidnapped and kept in a place near my house in my local government area. Of course, the house was demolished, in line with the law. The law will take its course, and the fact of the existence of the law is sufficient deterrence.
As for the second leg of the question as to whether the DTHA has been making laws for the ordinary people, yes, we have been doing that. These include the Vigilante Law, which every community will have a vigilante group, made up of mainly
indigenes, who will be paid from a central point, and the Delta State Road Traffic Management Law, which is expected to ensure greater disciplined use off the road, and take a lot of people of the street, by way of employment, just as the Vigilante Law.
Nigerians seem not to trust politicians; why is this so?
From experience, the people most Nigerians do not trust, it is politicians. My personal conviction is that Nigerians should give them the benefit of doubt; after all, they elected them into office.
So, from your personal experience, why do you think that it is difficult trusting politicians?
From my personal experience as a legislator, people want you to build schools, roads, hospitals, etc, for them, even when they know you are a lawmaker. These are the duties of the executive arm. It is against the backdrop of this expectation that we in DTHA have regular parleys with the executive arm, in order to throw up the development aspirations of our people. That is why we have constituency projects.
The average person in the country will not understand that it is not the duty of State Houses of Assembly to build infrastructure. The keyword, for the legislator, is to influence the executive to meet the development needs of his people. The legislature is the least understood among the tiers of government and it was the most handicapped and least developed in the light of our national experience with military rule. The judiciary, for instance, has courts and personnel spread across every state, as the case may be, while the same is true of the executive, which has offices and staff and other paraphernalia of office.