A member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Solomon Bob, has blasted the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, for his comments on the ban on open grazing.
It would be recalled that southern governors had after a recent meeting agreed on the ban of open grazing, among other issues.
Reacting to the development in the media, Malami had faulted the decision of the southern governors, saying it was unconstitutional.
Malami had likened the ban on open grazing to prohibition of selling spare parts in the northern part of the country.
Bob, who represents Ahaoda West/Ogba/Egbe federal constituency in Rivers State, described the Minister’s comments as “disingenuous, irresponsible and loaded with incendiary trope and ethnic slur.”
The lawmaker made his feelings known in a point of order he raised on the floor of the House at the commencement of sitting on Thursday.
However, he was stopped midway by the Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase, who was presiding, on the basis that the lawmaker was going beyond the bounds the order.
But speaking with reporters after the plenary, Bob said Malami’s comments lacked any basis in law and could worsen the already volatile situation in the country.
He said Section 41 of the constitution which the Minister alluded to deals with freedom of movement of human persons, not animals.
He said comparing this with spare parts business is “bad politics which is akin to preparing the ground for violent attacks on dealers in the business in the northern parts of the country.”
The lawmaker cautioned Malami to be mindful of his role under the constitution as the chief law officer of the country and refrain from “divisive utterances that cast him as sectional and partisan.”
