{"id":155892,"date":"2025-03-20T21:34:24","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T20:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/rivers-youve-added-salt-to-injury-by-use-of-voice-vote-peter-obi-slams-national-assembly"},"modified":"2025-04-03T18:26:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T17:26:43","slug":"rivers-youve-added-salt-to-injury-by-use-of-voice-vote-peter-obi-slams-national-assembly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/rivers-youve-added-salt-to-injury-by-use-of-voice-vote-peter-obi-slams-national-assembly","title":{"rendered":"Rivers: You\u2019ve added salt to injury by use of voice vote \u2013 Peter Obi slams National Assembly"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has berated members of the National Assembly for using voice vote to ratify President Bola Tinubu\u2019s declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State.<\/p>\n<p>Obi, who had earlier appealed to members of the National Assembly not to endorse the removal of Rivers State Governor Similaya Fubara in the state of emergency declared by Tinubu on Tuesday, decried the use of voice vote in the parliament to determine their position on such vital issue.<\/p>\n<p>Writing on his X handle on Thursday, Obi said: \u201cWhile still agonizing over the ongoing deterioration of democracy in our nation, especially with the situation in Rivers State, and trying to reach out to our National Assembly members not to support and sustain the unconstitutionality and arbitrariness, I just heard that they have added salt to injury by using a voice vote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Constitution is clear that this cannot be done through a voice vote but by calling individuals to answer \u2018yes\u2019 or \u2018no.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou cannot determine a two-thirds majority by a voice vote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile a two-thirds majority is crucial, it does not justify bypassing proper procedures and undermining the principles of transparency and accountability. The use of a voice vote in such a significant decision not only disregards constitutional requirements but also erodes public trust in the democratic process. Decisions of such magnitude must be made with integrity, following the letter and spirit of the law.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s disheartening that a decision as crucial as approving an emergency proclamation \u2014 one that could alter the course of the nation \u2014 was handled with such casual disregard for constitutional standards. \u201cThe 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) clearly requires that such a proclamation must be approved by at least two-thirds of all members of each House \u2014 the Senate and the House of Representatives. A simple call of \u201cAye\u201d or \u201cNay\u201d cannot accurately measure this crucial threshold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen a supermajority is required, it demands a recorded vote \u2014 whether by division, roll call, or electronic means. This isn\u2019t just a technicality; it\u2019s a matter of law and legitimacy. The Senate Standing Orders and House Rules were established to ensure that decisions of this magnitude are made transparently, with accountability. Ignoring these procedures is not just an oversight; it is a betrayal of the democratic process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA voice vote for such a critical matter is not just insufficient; it\u2019s a dangerous precedent. If we can bend the rules so easily, what stops us from undermining other pillars of democracy? Today, it\u2019s a voice vote on a state of emergency \u2014 tomorrow, it could be a voice vote on citizens\u2019 fundamental rights.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is painful to think that members of the National Assembly, who swore to uphold the Constitution, could participate in a process that sidesteps the very essence of due process. We must ask ourselves: If the law no longer anchors our decisions, then what does?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not just a flawed procedure; it is a warning signal. We cannot afford to gamble with the soul of our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has berated members of the National Assembly for using voice vote to ratify President Bola Tinubu\u2019s declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State. Obi, who had earlier appealed to members of the National Assembly not to endorse the removal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":155891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[670,254,222,421],"class_list":["post-155892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-national-assembly","tag-nigeria","tag-peter-obi","tag-rivers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Rivers: You\u2019ve added salt to injury by use of voice vote \u2013 Peter Obi slams National Assembly - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has berated members of the National Asse ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/rivers-youve-added-salt-to-injury-by-use-of-voice-vote-peter-obi-slams-national-assembly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rivers: You\u2019ve added salt to injury by use of voice vote \u2013 Peter Obi slams National Assembly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has berated members of the National Asse ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/rivers-youve-added-salt-to-injury-by-use-of-voice-vote-peter-obi-slams-national-assembly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-20T20:34:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-03T17:26:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1742494089.981815.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1728\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1151\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/rivers-youve-added-salt-to-injury-by-use-of-voice-vote-peter-obi-slams-national-assembly#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/rivers-youve-added-salt-to-injury-by-use-of-voice-vote-peter-obi-slams-national-assembly\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Rivers: You\u2019ve added salt to injury by use of voice vote \u2013 Peter Obi slams National Assembly\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-20T20:34:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-03T17:26:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/rivers-youve-added-salt-to-injury-by-use-of-voice-vote-peter-obi-slams-national-assembly\"},\"wordCount\":540,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/rivers-youve-added-salt-to-injury-by-use-of-voice-vote-peter-obi-slams-national-assembly#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1742494089.981815.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"National Assembly\",\"Nigeria\",\"Peter Obi\",\"Rivers\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/rivers-youve-added-salt-to-injury-by-use-of-voice-vote-peter-obi-slams-national-assembly#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/rivers-youve-added-salt-to-injury-by-use-of-voice-vote-peter-obi-slams-national-assembly\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/rivers-youve-added-salt-to-injury-by-use-of-voice-vote-peter-obi-slams-national-assembly\",\"name\":\"Rivers: You\u2019ve added salt to injury by use of voice vote \u2013 Peter Obi slams National Assembly - 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