Gambia. Utazi, who stated this on Wednesday at plenary said Buhari acted against the constitution by not seeking approval from the National Assembly.
Raising a constitutional point of order, Utazi said what the Buhari-led government did was against the law, citing Section 5 (4) of the Constitution. Section 5(4) states,
“(a) the President shall not declare a state of war between the federation and another country except with the sanction of a resolution of both houses of the National Assembly sitting in a joint session; and
(b) except with the prior approval of the senate, no member of the armed forces of the federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria.”
He added, “I am saying this because of the happenings in our friendly country in Gambia. The ECOWAS countries have been discussing on this issue; on how to ensure that democratic crisis of the people of Gambia are protected.
But to ask that this country will go on a warfare in another country without a recourse to this constitutional provisions is an affront of the 1999 Constitution and it is a breach of the Constitution, and we have failed even when the Senate has been cooperating with the executive.
“Let it be on record that if anything of this nature happens in this country; that this national assembly have to be informed properly in writing.” President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, who presided over the plenary, however cited Subsection 5 of the Constitution to counter Utazi.
It will be recalled that on Wednesday Nigeria sent 200 troops to Senegal as part of an ECOWAS team to kick out Yayha Jammeh. Nigeria’s warship NNS Unity also left for Gambia from Lagos on Tuesday.