SAN FRANCISCO, May 27, (THEWILL) – Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has denied reports that he conspired with a member of the House to smuggle in a bill that would expand the application of Sharia law in Nigeria.
The bill, sponsored by Hon. Abdullahi Salame, representing Gwadabawa/Illela federal constituency, Sokoto state, is aimed at expanding the criminal aspects of the Sharia law as well as make it applicable nationwide, and not just in the 12 northern states that adopted the Islamic legal code.
However, in a series of tweets on his twitter handle @Speakerdogara on Friday evening, the speaker said that it was crass ignorance of the legislative process for someone to insinuate that a Bill could be sneaked in and passed.
“Bills are always gazetted before they are scheduled for Second Reading and Gazettes are public documents,” he tweeted.
“The Bill is not a regular Bill that can be said to have passed second reading, passing it only meant it’s in the mill.
“All such Bills are read and referred to the House Special Ad-Hoc Committee on Constitution Review for Legislative fireworks”, and that “only the House Special Ad Hoc Committee on Constitutional review can propose a final Bill on constitutional review.
“As it is there no proposed Bill from the Ad Hoc committee yet. So the Bill in question is just a working document. Those talking about sneaking a bill are either ignorant of the process or plainly mischievous.
“The Special Ad Hoc committee is bound to consider it just like all other references to the Ad Hoc committee. In real sense it’s only when the said Ad Hoc committee proposes it to the House that we will have the Bill to vote on.
“The Ad Hoc committee is free to recommend or reject it and where it rejects it the Bill dies there and as such “it’s no use allowing debates on such Bills that are for reference.”
“The bill will be thoroughly debated and examined by our in-house experts serving on the Special Ad Hoc Committee.
“If it passes the Ad Hoc committee, it will now be debated by the House in plenary nd be subjected to 2/3rd vote.
“In any case, recommendations from the public on constitutional amendment are accepted by the House without debate.”
Story by David Oputah
