A lawsuit filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, by the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) may lead to the vacation of seats for approximately 40 National Assembly members concurrently serving in the National Assembly, ECOWAS Parliament, and the Pan-African Parliament, while collecting emoluments from all three bodies. Among those affected are Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, Acting Speaker of ECOWAS Sixth Legislature, Ali Ndume, Abiodun Olujimi, Smart Adeyemi, Tolu Odebiyi, and Mshelia Haruna.
ALDRAP, a non-governmental organization promoting transparency and accountability in governance, initiated the suit to address what it sees as a violation of the 1999 Constitution and international statutes prohibiting members from serving in multiple parliaments simultaneously. Despite a formal complaint and pre-action notice to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, urging action, ALDRAP proceeded with legal action after receiving no response.
The group seeks a court ruling on whether members wishing to join the ECOWAS Parliament and/or the Pan-African Parliament must resign from the National Assembly as per Section 68(1)(a) of the Constitution. Additionally, ALDRAP demands an immediate halt to salaries and remuneration for the 40 lawmakers in question and calls for bye-elections to fill the resulting vacancies within 30 days. ALDRAP argues that the legislators’ dual roles detract from their duties to their constituents and violate constitutional provisions.