Group faults Senate on constitutional amendment

Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Joseph Bodunrin  Daudu, SAN, national coordinator of the foundation stated this recently in a statement made available to newsmen. According to him, the contrivance by the Senate to completely take out the president’s power to assent or refuse to assent to the alteration is not the panacea to the underlying […]

Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Joseph Bodunrin  Daudu, SAN, national coordinator of the foundation stated this recently in a statement made available to newsmen.
 According to him, the contrivance by the Senate to completely take out the president’s power to assent or refuse to assent to the alteration is not the panacea to the underlying problem of slow passage of bills owing to obstruction of the process by presidential refusal to give assent. It will be recalled that the Senate recently purported to overwhelmingly vote to approve amendments to the 1999 Constitution, following the submission of the Constitution Alteration Bill by the states’ Houses of Assembly.
The Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, who chaired the Senate Committee on Constitution amendment, moved a motion for the passage of the bill.
He affirmed that the exercise was in conformity with Section 9 of the Nigerian Constitution. Ekweremadu, who told his colleagues that alteration of provisions of the constitution could only be approved by two-thirds of the National Assembly, disclosed that the power to assent to amendments in the constitution would now be reserved for the legislature.
According to JB Daudu, the bill in issue seeks to entirely undermine the very basis of the democratic building blocks in Nigeria.
 He pointed out that the power in the president to assent or veto a bill is to prevent legislative tyranny and promote good governance.
Meanwhile a constitutional lawyer Sebastine Hon, SAN, recently called upon President Goodluck Jonathan to sign into law the 4th Amendment Act of the 1999 Constitution without further delay.
The reasons for making the call according, to him, are very plain enough. “First of all, the amended constitution will guide all Nigerians, particularly the political gladiators and lawyers, to gear up for the elections. This will go a long way in shaping our legal jurisprudence both in the pre and the post-election periods.
 “Secondly, it normally takes time after an act is assented to, for it to reach the public. If not signed on time, it will not reach Nigerians on time enough for them to prepare for challenges ahead,” he said.
He added that the Constitution of Nigeria does not operate retroactively.