BEVERLY HILLS, June 20, (THEWILL) – The Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution has approved life pension and immunity from persecution for presiding officers of the National Assembly, even as it endorsed a proposal to amend Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution in order for the same process of removing governors to be adopted for speakers of state Houses of Assembly.
The decisions were arrived at the last day of the two-day retreat of the committee which began on Friday at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, where it also approved removal of presidential assent in constitution review, local government autonomy and independent candidacy in elections.
One of the resolutions followed the submission of speakers of state Houses of Assembly present at the session that presiding officers at the state levels had become endangered species arbitrarily thrown out of office in view of the easy way of removing speakers.
The proposal was overwhelmingly adopted by the committee members in expression of their solidarity for their counterparts at the state level. The decision was also adopted in the spirit of sportsmanship as some senators said it was only right for them to encourage the speakers whose co-operation would be needed to pass amendments proposed by the National Assembly.
The speakers explained that in coming up with the proposal, the 36 presiding officers of the state Houses of Assembly had met and collectively adopted the proposal which is meant to make the process of removing speakers more complex and rigorous so that it will no longer be attractive to their colleagues in the Houses of Assembly.
Meanwhile, the committee also re-opened the amendments passed by the seventh National Assembly which were vetoed by former President Goodluck Jonathan, prominent among which was the move to remove presidential assent on constitution amendments.
This decision was arrived at after a heated debate with some senators who argued that having secured the two-thirds majority support of members of each house of the National Assembly as well as state Houses of Assembly, the assent of the president is no longer necessary.
But those against the move argue that the principle of checks and balances would be defeated if the president is barred outright from assenting to constitutional amendments.
They also contended that in as much as no bill can become a law unless assented to by the president, it is only normal to retain presidential assent on constitution amendments.
However, when the issue was put to vote, majority supported the removal of presidential assent on amendments and the resolution was passed.
Members of the committee also approved autonomy for local governments. Before arriving at the decision, members of the committee elaborately brainstormed on the plights of Nigerians at the grassroots especially teachers who are owed several months of salary arrears.
They blamed the trend on the inability of council chairmen to independently control finances due to them and therefore resolved that the only way to put paid to the trend is to make financial autonomy of local councils a constitutional affair.
The committee also approved the incorporation of independent candidacy into the constitution with the belief that the move would provide a platform for individuals who are shut out of their parties’ nomination to test their popularity on the ballot box.
It resolved to recommend immunity from prosecution for senate president, deputy senate president, speaker and deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. It also agreed to remove “force” from the “Nigeria Police Force” and consequently rename it Nigeria Police.
In the same vein, it resolved to recommend for Senate approval, pension for presiding officers of the Senate and House of Representatives. Members of the committee had argued that if the president, vice president, governors and deputy governors are entitled to life pensions, the presiding officers in the legislature do not deserve anything less.
However, the committee dropped proposals such as the introduction of indigeneship into the constitution with the intention to confer indigeneship of a particular area on anyone who has resided in that area for 10 years and above. It also dropped the proposal to include education as a fundamental right.
The committee also dropped the move to inculcate electoral offence in the constitution, which was meant to ban anyone convicted of electoral offence for not less than 10 years.
In his final remark, the Deputy Senate President who doubled as chairman of the committee, Chief Ike Ekweremadu pointed out that resolutions at the retreat were mere proposals and subject to the approval of two-thirds majority of both houses of the National Assembly as well as houses of assembly before they can eventually be passed.
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