Gbenga Daniel: Governors abusing immunity — only president, VP should enjoy privilege

Gbenga Daniel, senator representing Ogun east, says only the president and vice-president should be granted immunity from prosecution.

Section 308 of the 1999 constitution provides immunity for the president, vice-president, governors and their deputies.

On March 27, the house of representatives rescinded its decision on a bill that sought to strip the vice-president, governors and deputy governors of immunity.

Appearing on ‘Political Paradigm’, a Channels Television programme aired on Tuesday, Daniel said although the immunity clause has its merits, it has been largely abused by some state governors.

“Immunity has the good sides, but to a large extent, I think, some of our elected governors appear to have abused it, in terms of some of the things they do,” the former governor of Ogun state said.

“Some of them virtually have turned the state to their personal fiefdom and they think the property of the state belongs to them and they can do it whichever way they want, without even recourse to the house of assembly.”

He maintained that absolute immunity should be limited to the two highest offices in the country, to preserve the dignity of the presidency and allow its occupants to focus on governance without distractions.

“I think that only the president and the vice-president should be allowed to have absolute immunity so that they can concentrate, and so that no one will be embarrassing the symbol of the country,” he added.

Daniel said the immunity currently enjoyed by governors and their deputies should be redefined — shielding them from criminal prosecution but allowing for accountability in other aspects of governance.

“The governors and their deputies should have their immunity clarified. Probably, yes, they have immunity from what you call criminal prosecution, but there are other things that are not criminal,” he said.

“There is no reason why they should not be held accountable while in office.”

Daniel also spoke on the 1999 constitution, describing it as a product of patriotic and intelligent minds.

“That constitution was crafted by the best of civilian brains who just happened to have worked with the military. That doesn’t take away their brain and sense of patriotism,” he said.

“Having said that, there is also a school of thought that says Nigerians require a little bit of iron hands to get things done.

“I do not agree that the constitution is entirely bad and so, to that extent, we should look at a few areas, based on our contemporary experience and see whether we can amend it.”