Audacity Of Executive Obduracy.
Tuesday (Afor) 03-03-2026.
In 1748, a French Enlightenment Thinker, Baron de Montesquieu, in his work titled De l’esprit des lois (The Spirit of The Laws), propounded that, in order to avoid concentration of power in one person or group of persons which could lead to tyranny, there should be Three Arms of Government to guarantee Separation of Power.
Montesquieu’s proposition has since been the cornerstone of modern democracy. Separation of Power guarantees democratic stability as it makes for inclusiveness and accountability. The Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary, when allowed to operate as separate but unifying Arms of Government, infuse checks and balances in governance, in the overall interest of the citizens.
For governance to be in tandem with global standards of democratic essence and expectations, no Arm of Government should hold another in contempt or overstep its boundaries. For instance, when the Legislative Arm makes laws, particularly on appropriation, it is the Executive Arm that should implement the laws so made. If in the course of execution legal breaches occur, for instance between the Government and a Contractor, it becomes the responsibility of the Judiciary, if her attention is called, to interpret the relevant laws and make sure justice prevails. In the same vein, the Legislature that makes laws carries supervisory oversight functions on projects being executed by the Executive in order to drive and ascertain appropriateness and effectiveness of execution.
Expectedly, there should be interdependence of the three Arms of Government for it to achieve cordinated successes and progress in the collective interest of the citizens.
In order to guarantee this interdependence amongst the three Arms of Government, there should be mutual respect across board. While Members of the Legislature must hold the President and Head of the Executive Arm of Government in high esteem, appointees of the President must not, for any reason, be contemptuous in their attitude to Members of the two other Arms of Government.
If it becomes fashionable or habitual for appointees of Mr President to look at Members of the other Arms with disdain, mutual suspicions and avoidable rifts would crop up, and that would not be in the best interest of integrated governance.
From reports in the Media, including Guardian Newspaper of Thursday 26th February, 2026, Nigeria’s Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa, had expressed serious concerns about non-compliance by the Registrar-General/Chief Executive Officer of Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, Mr Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN, who has been in ‘disdainful habit’ of ignoring invitations from the the National Assembly to defend annual budgetary proposals by the Commission.
In the most recent instance, a former Governor of Abia State and Ranking Senator representing Abia-North Senatorial District in the 10th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Most Distinguished Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who is a member of the Senate’s Finance Committee, could not continue to stomach that reckless act of impropriety and impudence. He, therefore, had to call the bluff of the Registra-General/CEO of Corporate Affairs Commission.
According to the report, the no nonsense Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, after taking a swipe at the appointee, moved a motion that the attention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, should be drawn to the irresponsible conduct of Mr Magaji for him to relieve him of his position. The motion was promptly seconded by the former Governor of Edo State and Senator representing Edo-North Senatorial District, His Excellency, Most Distinguished Senator Adams Oshiomhole.
Whatever will become the fate of this appointee that was reported not to have any iota of respect for Members of Nigeria’s National Assembly, Equity Global Reporters Ltd would wish to caution that mutual respect should remain the foundation of interdependence of the three Arms of Government in Nigeria, just like it is in every democracy, the world over. Obdurate characters like Mr Magaji, as portrayed in the said report, could be on a deliberate mission to cause conflict between the Presidency and the Legislature. Individuals with such agenda, should not be allowed a minute further in Government.
Therefore, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu’s motion in this regard is the most appropriate path to tread, as it is a clarion call to uphold and sustain the highly cherished doctrine of Separation of Power.
Sir Don Ubani is a former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Abia State, and Publisher of Equity Global Reporters Ltd.
