The Senate, on Wednesday, voted on the proposed amendments to the 1999 Constitution during which the lawmakers rejected devolution of power to the states.
At its plenary in Abuja, the lawmakers rejected the alteration of the Second Schedule, Parts I and II of the Constitution to move certain items to the Concurrent Legislative List to give more legislative powers to states.
The proposed amendment on power devolution was to also “delineate the extent to which the federal legislature and state assemblies can legislate on the items that have been moved to the Concurrent Legislative List.”
After votes were taken, 46 senators voted for devolution of power, 48 voted against it, while one Senator abstained.
The upper chamber of the National Assembly specifically approved the alterations of sections 65, 106, 131 and 177 of the Constitution, “aimed at expanding the political space and broadening the options for the electorate by allowing for independent candidacy in all elections.”
This was part of the proposals in the report by the Committee on Constitution Review on the ‘Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 As Amended (Alteration) Bill 2017’, which were passed on Wednesday.
The lawmakers had adopted the report at the plenary on Tuesday and debated its recommendations.
At the plenary on Wednesday, votes were taken on the proposed amendments. Electronic voting was adopted, which allowed a legislator to either press the ‘Yes,’ ‘No,’ or ‘Abstain’ button.
Each proposal also required two-thirds of the votes to be passed.
Ninety seven senators registered their presence in the chamber, out of the 109 members.
Senate President Bukola Saraki, who presided over the session, was not expected to vote until there was a tie.
In all, 29 alterations were approved out of the 33 proposed, which were drawn from 27 bills.
But the pan Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere and a faction of the Ijaw National Congress have faulted the Senate for rejecting devolution of power to the states.
They argued that if the Senate had approved the clause, it would have given hope to fillip to the agitations for restructuring of the country.
The Senate also approved the inclusion of former Presidents of the Senate and Speakers of the House of Representatives in the Council of State.
It accepted the removal of state independent electoral commission from the Constitution and the transfer of its functions to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The bill, seeking to alter Section 162 of the Constitution “to abrogate the State Joint Local Government Accounts”, was also passed.
It also seeks to “empower each local government council to maintain its own special account into which all allocations due to the local governments council shall be directly paid from the Federation Account and from the government of the state, and to also make provisions for savings in the Federation Account before distribution to other levels of government.”
In addition, the Senate passed another bill for alterations “aimed at strengthening local government administration in Nigeria by guaranteeing the democratic existence, funding and tenure of local government councils.”
Also approved is the proposed amendment to allow funding of the state Houses of Assembly directly from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the states.
The lawmakers, however, rejected the deletion of the Land Use Act from the Constitution.
The Senate also rejected the 35 per cent and 20 per cent affirmative action for women at both federal and state levels, while it approved nomination of ministers by the President and commissioners by the governor within 30 days after inauguration.
The proposal won the simple majority but failed to meet two-thirds of the votes. For ministerial appointment, 49 senators voted for affirmative action, 43 voted against it while two abstained. For commissioner nomination, 61 voted yes and 35 voted no.
In addition, the lawmakers approved that portfolios be attached to the nominations when sent to the National Assembly or state Houses of Assembly for confirmation.
The Senate also approved a restriction to the tenure of a President or governor, who had earlier been sworn in to complete a term.
The short title read, “This bill seeks to restrict a person who was sworn in as President or governor to complete the term of the elected President from contesting the same office for more than one term.”
Former President Goodluck Jonathan (then as Vice President) completed the first term of the late Umaru Yar’Adua and contested presidential election twice – in 2011 and 2015.
The senators equally approved the recommendation for immunity for the lawmakers for any of the actions during plenary.
The lawmakers also approved the reduction in the ages of aspirants for the offices of the President and governor or members of the Senate, House of Representatives and the State Houses of Assembly, with alterations to sections 65, 106, 131 and 177 of the Constitution.
Age requirement for the President was reduced from 40 to 35; governor, 35 to 30; member of Senate retained 35; House of Representatives, 30 to 25.
Also, the legislature passed the proposal to set the time within which the President or governor must lay the appropriation bill before the National Assembly or state House of Assembly “to encourage the early presentation and passage of appropriation bills.”
It was pegged at 90 days before the end of fiscal year.
The lawmakers also voted for the independence of the Office of Attorney General of the Federation and the establishment of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federal Government.
The separation of the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and of the state from the office of the minister of or commissioner for justice was also approved.
They however rejected the proposed alteration to Section 25 of the Constitution to guarantee a married woman’s right to choose either her origin by birth or by marriage for the purposes of appointment or election.
Saraki, in his remarks, commended Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and all members of the Constitution Review Committee.
He explained that with the passed 29 bills, the Senate had laid a new foundation for a new Nigeria that would be more committed, create opportunities for our young people and place the country firmly among the nations of the world.
Saraki stated, “This is an exercise for which we gave a promise and we have kept to it. Definitely, we have made history this afternoon with the exercise that we have carried out, not only in the timing but the content of the exercise that we have carried out today.
“What we have done today definitely is to lay the foundation for a far-reaching reform of our political, economic and social development.
“We have today, through the amendments we have done, redefined our budget processes. We have addressed issues that have held our country down for many years. We have addressed the issue of saving money earned by the Federation, which has always been an issue in this country for many years.”
After Saraki’s comment, the Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Abiodun Olujimi, moved a motion that the rejected affirmative action be included in her Gender Equality and Opportunities Bill, which is currently at the committee level.
Ekweremadu, who seconded the motion, said the Senate was committed to protecting the interests of women in the country, adding that the clause would be given more support when presented as part of the gender bill.
The prayer was unanimously granted by the Senate.
(Punch)
