When the history of the 7th National Assembly and the 2011-2015 democratic dispensation is eventually chronicled, the phenemona of defections, cross-carpeting and shifts in political allegiance and loyalty will indeed be well documented and historians would doubtless, posit that the nation has never witnessed such gale of defections and cross-carpeting since it’s existence as a corporate entity, 100 years ago.
From all sides of the political divide, senators and House of Reps members competed among themselves in showcasing their capacity to switch political allegiance from one party to the other, some jumped from the PDP to the APC, others from PDP to the APC, while more hopped to the Labour Party, the SDP, the PDM, the Accord Party etc moving along with their numerous supporters to where they believe, the pastures are greener or their ambitions or aspirations will be more easily realised. In the ensuring scenario, strange political bedfellows emerged as some of the defectors joined their erstwhile opponents in the latter party while others became junior partners to those they had earlier trounced in previous elections. In one hilarious outcome, a senatorial aspirant decamped to another party and was eventually defeated in the primaries by an opponent who he had earlier defeated in the 2015 elections for the house of representatives.
Without doubt and in the presently charged political environment, where every move or gesture easily assumes a political dimension, there are indeed strong pressures on every citizen, bureaucrat, administrator or public official to assume one form of loyalty or the other and those that resist such pressure or influence are indeed few and far between and stand vindicated at the end of the day for their strict political neutrality and lack of bias or partiality for any of the contending parties.
The principled clerk to the national assembly (CNA), Alh Salisu Maikasuwa has no preference for any political lineage or tendency but fervently upholds the constitution of the federal republic to the spirit and letter notwithstanding whose ox is gored in the process, contrary to the practice of past administrations where political preferences and favouritism ruled the waves.
Any person, party, authority or tendency that approaches the National Assembly’s administrative unit, which Maikasuwa superintends, with the ulterior motive of influencing the management hierarchy in order to advance a stated political agenda would be in for a rude shock and unparalleled disappointment as he/she would be quickly reminded that politics or the pursuit of partisan interests does not extend to Maikasuwa’s superbly motivated and exemplary performing core of professionals that abound in the various hierarchies of the NASS management organogram.
As a respected paliamentary affairs expert, Lady Dinna Abott, Chair Parliamentary Roundtable, London observed: “Parliaments all over the world are distinguished by their absolute political neutrality and strict obedience to laws and court orders and in this regard, we score the National Assembly of Nigeria very highly.
In a context where you have differing political ideologies and tendencies with the penchant for them to whip up ethnic and religious sentiments to advance one form of interest or the other, it is a testimony to the unrelenting and consistent adherence to professionalism and civil service neutralily that Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa has been able to hold the National Assembly above the fray and maintain a healthy respect among the contending political forces. It is a noteworthy bureaucratic trait that should be commended and emulated by budding and even advanced democratic parliaments all over the world.” Need we say more?