An executive session of the House of Representatives members have met and thrown out the emergency extension request from the Nigerian President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan.
This decision was taken at a closed door meeting, which held after the Senate President, David Mark, pronounced National Assembly shut until Tuesday.
Briefing newsmen later, the House Spokesman, Zakari Mohammed advised President Jonathan to invoke Section 81 of the 1999 Constitution and order massive deployment of troops rather than wait for extension of emergency.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, had directed the House to reconvene after it adjourned sitting of its plenary on 28th of October to 3rd December 2014 to allow members of the House carry out pre – budget oversight activities in preparation for the 2015 budget and also to meet the political calendar of all the political parties.
The Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, in a statement said he “received a communication from the President, Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR, requesting for the extension of the existing State of Emergency in Adamawa , Borno and Yobe States by the House of Representatives.
“Pursuant to the powers conferred on me by Section 305 ( 2 ) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, which requires me to “forthwith convene or arrange a meeting of the House” and in order to treat the extension before the expiration of the current State of Emergency in accordance with Section 305 (6) (c) of the Constitution, I hereby reconvene the House of Representatives, currently on Recess.”
The Speaker said that the Thursday resumption has a single agenda which is “Consideration of Mr.President’s request for extension of the existing State of Emergency.
