Apparently, imitating the executive arm of government, the members of the National Assembly has recently muted an idea to establish immunity for the leadership of the National Assembly as applicable to president and the state governors. However, in a statement signed by Dr Olaniyan, and made available to Vanguard, he wondered why the lawmakers will be planning such move when it was not part of their promises to the electorate when they were seeking their mandate. Olaniyan who is the author of ‘Corruption and Human Rights Law in Africa’, said: “extending constitutional immunity to these powerful officials is the only way to counter what they see as ‘the constant external influence and manipulations in the choice of presiding officers of the National Assembly.’” He noted that: “The immunity initiative looks like a revenge job, and one for self-aggrandisement. This is undoubtedly a low period in public esteem for our ‘lawmakers.” He opined that the success of President Muhammadu Buhari’s proclaimed fight against corruption hinges not only on his ‘integrity record’ or members of his cabinet but also the collective involvement of all arms of government, in particular the National Assembly and the judiciary. He said no doubt, the Constitution recognizes the role of the National Assembly to make laws for the peace, order and good governance of the Federation, adding, “the members of the 8th National Assembly should worry less about their own interest and more about the citizens who are the real victims of corruption.” To President Buhari, Olaniyan said he should be aware that the immunity initiative poses serious risks to his anti-corruption agenda, and the likelihood of it being compromised is very high. He therefore called on him to speak out and “move swiftly to dissuade members of the 8th National Assembly from taking forward the immunity initiative if his vision ‘to be remembered as a Nigerian president who fought corruption to a standstill’ is to be effectively realised.”]]>