The Conference of Speakers on
Friday presented its resolutions on the 57 sections being amended in the 1999
Constitution to the National Assembly, approving the split of the office of the
Attorney General from the Minister of Justice.
Chairman of the conference,
Samuel Ikon, handed over the document to the President of the Senate, David
Mark.
Ikon said that the conference had
done its part of the work as all the items listed for amendment were
scrutinised through votes in the 36 Houses of Assembly in the country.
“The president of the senate, a
few weeks back, I assured you that we would do justice and act in line with the
wish of our people as regards to the Constitution for Alteration Bill 2015.
“On behalf of the states’ Houses
of Assembly, I present to you the resolutions of the assemblies, which have
shown our resolve to strengthen and deepen our democracy.
“We urge that this process should
be a continuous one as sections not agreed on today can find relevance in
future,” he said.
Ikon said, “let me announce that
we have exceeded the requirement for financial autonomy for the state
legislatures.
“We have also exceeded the
required two-thirds for the strengthening of other institutions sought for,
such as splitting of the office of the Attorney-General and that of the
Minister of Justice.
“We are hopeful that the outcome
would give Nigerians confidence that our future is sure.”
Receiving the document, Mark
commended the conference for the commitment its members showed in the discharge
of the job.
Mark recalled that “when, two
months ago, we handed the resolutions from the Senate and House of
Representatives to you, we told you in clear terms that we had no agenda.
“We went round this country
asking Nigerians to express their views on areas in the constitution that they
want an amendment.
“Many Nigerians were of the
opinion that we were not going to make any amendment at all in the seventh
Senate and in the seventh democratic dispensation.
“But having returned the
document, our work has been made easy, regardless of the ones that have not met
constitutional requirement for amendment.”
According to him, “the important
thing is that you have been able to do your work promptly as possible.
He, however, pointed out that the
matter was not just for making amendment, but that Nigerians must be prepared
to adhere to the provisions of the constitution irrespective of their positions
in the country.
“We, the operators, must be first
prepared to abide by the laws. It is with this development that we can give our
constitution a meaning,” Mark said.
Also speaking, Speaker of the
House Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, said that the process for further altering
the constitution was built on the experience of the National Assembly.
Tambuwal, who was represented by
the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, said the House’s ad hoc committee on
constitution review, was set up to fulfil one of the cardinal points in the
legislative agenda.
According to him, “whatever the
outcome of the returns from the states, we will accept it as the inevitable
consequences of running a federation where the input of the states is a
critical requirement. Indeed, the process of amending or altering the
constitution is a continuous one. It does not end with this exercise.”
Tambuwal said he felt a personal
sense of satisfaction at the way the collective views and aspirations of
Nigerians from all walks of life had been reflected largely in the amendment
process, especially at the level of the National Assembly.
Tambuwal promised that the
National Assembly “shall carry out this final exercise with dispatch,
particularly given the limited time in the life of the current assembly,”
adding that “We hope that the resolution reached on the bill by the Houses of
Assembly of the states would meet the expectations of Nigerians on the key
issues that were affected by the exercise.”
He said: “I feel highly delighted
at the event of today which marks another epoch in the annals of constitution
alteration by the National Assembly. At a personal level, I have a sense
of fulfilment, having guided the ad hoc committee of the House of
Representatives in arriving at the Constitution Alteration Bill which was
adopted with positive votes of the two chambers of the National Assembly.
“When we started the journey to
further alter the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, 1999, we built on the experience of the efforts of the National Assembly.
“For us in the House of
Representatives, the House ad hoc committee on constitution review was set up
to fulfill one of the cardinal points in the legislative agenda adopted by the
seventh House of Representatives following its inauguration in June
2011.
“We had made a commitment to the
people to further alter the provisions of the 1999 Constitution in a more
holistic manner than the previous efforts which touched only a few
provisions. If we recall the origin of the constitution, we will acknowledge
that it lacked a more direct participation of Nigerians in its making. We made
efforts this time to involve all Nigerians.
“The National Assembly took the
approach of incremental alterations of the provisions of the constitution in
such a manner that would eventually bring about a wholesale alteration/review
of the constitution without unduly upsetting the governance structure of the
country. This we did with the proposal for the amendment or alteration of 57
sections and 7 schedules of the constitution.
“Following the adoption of the
bill, the National Assembly, on 28 October 2014, transmitted the bill to the
conference of speakers of state legislature in accordance with Section 9 of the
constitution. It is heartening that the Houses of Assembly of the states
concluded the work on the Bill in less than two months and are transmitting
their resolution to the National Assembly today, indicating the views of their
states on the items for amendment proposed by the National Assembly.
“The National Assembly will
further collate the votes on each of the sections of the bill and determine
which of them attained the constitutionally required two-thirds vote for
passage, which in practice means that 24 out of the 36 state Houses of Assembly
shall have voted ‘yes’ on each section for it to be adjudged as having
passed.”
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