REPS NEWS: Reps Begin Deliberations of 1999 Constitution Review
*UNREGISTERED VOTERS EXCLUDED FROM REVIEW PROCESS
*LG AUTONOMY MUST STAND
*NO FUNDS FOR CARETAKER CHAIRMEN
LEGISREPORTS NG – The Ad hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, which was constituted mid last year by the House of representatives submitted its report this afternoon before the House. urging the House to consider granting autonomy to Local Governments and allowing for independent candidature in future elections among other things. The Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nkem Ihedioha and Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee, submitted the report.
As contained in the report, un-elected local government Chairmen would be barred from getting funding from the Nations treasury
The Deputy Speaker who briefed the House read the report The Constitution Alteration Bill attached to this Report is a reflection of Members’ Bills referred to the Committee after second reading and results of the Peoples’ Public Sessions on the Review of the Constitution.
As regards to Section 65, the Deputy Speaker proffered that “The Committee agreed to allow for independent candidacy in elections in Nigeria. This would however be subject to conditions stipulated under the Electoral Act”.
Below are highlights of contentious issues the report addressed;
Section 7: Local Government System: The Committee followed from the recommendation of the Peoples Public Sessions which clearly underscored the need to create independence and autonomy for local government councils and give the councils their deserved role as catalysts for development at the grassroots level. Accordingly, the Committee created a fixed uniform term of four years for local government councils and prescribed denial of appropriation to councils that are not democratically elected.
If the wishes of the committee are to be granted in areas of reforms, mode of election of local government officials, their functions, tenure, qualifications for elections, and other related matters, will be managed by the national election management body, INEC.
Section 8: New States and Boundary Adjustment: The Committee reviewed the provisions of section 8 to emphasize the importance of elected local government councils, by inserting alterations that will ensure that only elected local government officials can participate in the process for creation of new States. Also, clarifying that onlyregistered voters in a local government area can participate in a referendum for the creation of a new State.
Section 9: In this section, the Committee sought to clarify and remove ambiguities in language with respect to the alteration of the Constitution and further dispense with the requirement for assent of the president to be obtained for the amendment of the Constitution. The Committee came to the conclusion that the rigorous provisions for the alteration of the Constitution by members of the National Assembly and the participation of the 36 State Houses of Assembly represented such adequate participation of Nigerians and that assent of the President negated the principle contained therein.
Section 12: The Committee altered the provisions relating to Nigeria’s international treaty obligations, to provide for National Assembly’s ratification and enactment.
Chapter III Alteration:
In Section 25 report stated: ”In order to address the various conflicts and crises surrounding the question of who is an indigene or settler in the community, the Committee has redefined citizenship to take away this divide meaning that a person who has lived in a community for a specified period is entitled to the same rights and privileges as citizens of that community.
“The amendment under this chapter fully defines indegeneship in a way to eliminate the conflict that this has posed in the past”.
There-in Section 42, the Committtee stated that: “The Committee altered section 42 of the Constitution to specifically prohibit discrimination against persons living with disability”.
However, the Committee introduced a new section 45A – D To make ” enforceable certain socio-economic rights as fundamental rights and incorporating them into Chapter IV, the justiciable part of the Constitution, thus creating as justiciable, the rights to education, right to favorable environment, right to free primary and maternal health care services, and the right to basic housing”.
The Committee he said, also amended Section 66 “To give seriousness to the issue of electoral offence, the Committee decided that is now provides grounds for disqualification of a candidate from contesting elections where he has been found guilty of an offence. This is also applicable at the State level”
The Committee, according to Ihedioha, also reworked Constitution, “In order to entrench the independence of the offices of the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Auditor-General of the Federation, and insulate them from political control, the Committee put this office on the first line change of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation”.
Section 80 was also altered and “strengthened the provisions of section 80 of the Constitution to plug leakages from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation and public funds of Nigeria to ensure that no expenditure is made by any organ of government without appropriation by the legislature”.
Sections 81 and 82, according to the Deputy Speaker, was altered by his Committee, “To ensure timely passage of the National Budget, and discipline in expenditure, the Committee stipulated that budgets be submitted by the executive for approval no later than ninety days before the expiration of the fiscal year.
In Sections 84A – C: ”The Committee included a new section in the Constitution creating a new office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and Accountant-General of the Federal Government to ensure that persons are appointed into these two separate offices for professional management of resources
The Committee also reworked Section 150 “To give effect to the results of the Peoples’ Public Session which voted to separate the office of the Minister of Justice from that of the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Committee made amendments to reflect this and insulating an independent office of the Attorney-General of the Federation from partisanship and to be managed by a professional lawyer. This is also applicable at the State level”.
In Section 153: Hon. Ihedioha told the House that “The Committee felt that the issue of electoral offences is of such importance as to warrant the creation of an independent electoral offences commission to handle it”.
The Committee also altered the contentious Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution “to abrogate State Joint Local Government accounts and empower each Local Government to maintain its own special account to be called “Local Government Council Allocation account” into which shall be paid directly allocations made to the localgovernment by the Federal Government from the Federation Account and from the government of the State”.
Hon. Ihedioha, said the Committee also altered Section 197 to abrogate State Independent Electoral Commissions(SIECs)
According to him, “to protect the integrity of the electoral process at local government level and respond to the complaints of partisanship of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIEC) accordingly, it deleted the existence of SIECs and vested the power to conduct local government councils across the federation in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)”.
According to him, the Committee amended “Section 201 and 3rd Schedule, Part I: Role for Traditional Rulers to “create a role for traditional rulers at the Federal and State levels providing for representation of traditional rulers in the National Council of States and the creation of a State Council of Chiefs at the State level”.
He said Section 214 of the Constitution was amended “to delete the word “Force” from the name of the Nigeria Police providing for the name of the Police to now be “Nigerian Police” rather than “Nigeria Police Force”.
The Committee also amended Section 241 ” to address concerns over delay in the courts by limiting the use of interlocutory appeals to stay proceedings in court”.
The Committee also altered section 315 this section of the Constitution as approved by the Peoples’ Public Session removing the powers of the President and governor of the State to modify existing laws”.
He said “Section 308 was amended In line with the results from the Peoples’ Public Sessions, the Committee also removed the immunity from prosecution from criminal offences for persons occupying the position of president, vice president, governor and deputy governor, and to stem impunity levels”.
This report was prepared by our correspondent at the National Assembly
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