The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association has said that the persistent invitations of heads of businesses to Abuja by the National Assembly amount to harassment and distractions.
The group said that the actions of the lawmakers had the potential to demotivate genuine investors and frustrate the ease of doing business initiative of the Federal Government.
It also noted that it was setting a dangerous precedence of deviance to the time-tested principle of separation of powers in Nigeria.
In a statement, the Director General of NECA, Wale Oyerinde, who said this in Lagos over the weekend, also stated that the recent activities of various committees of the National Assembly such as inviting and requesting managing directors of businesses to appear and also submit documents for the purpose of an investigation was worrisome.
He also said that the group had written severally to the National Assembly, informing them that their actions were not only a distraction to organised businesses but also a usurpation of the powers and responsibilities of the executive arm of government.
“Recent activities of various committees of the National Assembly such as inviting and requesting managing directors of businesses to appear and also submit documents for the purpose of an investigation are worrisome. We had written severally to the Committees informing them that the action is not only a distraction to organized businesses but also a usurpation of the powers and responsibilities of the Executive arm of Government.”
According to him, “Our understanding of the powers conferred on lawmakers by Sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution is for the exercise of oversight functions on public sector agencies. We, honestly, cannot find any support in the aforementioned sections for investigations of private companies.
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