• State assemblies to conduct fresh public hearings
Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja
Governors on the platform of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on Tuesday in Abuja subtly called to question the ability of the National Assembly to carry out people-oriented amendments to the 1999 Constitution as they constituted a fresh committee to examine amendments being carried out by the apex legislative institution.
This resolution was the aftermath of a meeting of the 36 governors with speakers of the state Houses of Assembly under the aegis of Conference of Speakers of State Houses of Assembly at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa.
In a further seeming doubt of National Assembly’s good intentions to carry out effective and meaningful amendments to the constitution, the meeting also resolved that the state legislatures should begin another round of consultations and public hearings on each item being amended by the federal parliament.
A communique issued at the end of the meeting and signed by the Chairman of NGF and Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari and Chairman of Conference of Speakers and Speaker of Sokoto State House of Assembly, Ismaila Kamba, also said the meeting resolved to approach the amendment with a sense of maturity, bearing in mind the future of democracy.
“We, all the governors of the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under the platform of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Speakers of the state Houses of Assembly, under the auspices of the Conference of Speakers at the end of a consultative meeting regarding the ongoing efforts to amend certain sections of the 1999 constitution resolved as follows:
“The meeting agreed to approach this amendment with maturity and the future of our democracy at the back of our minds. The meeting agreed that the state Houses of Assembly should consult all stakeholders and hold public hearing on all the items transmitted to them by the National Assembly in a bid to promote our democracy and strengthen its institutions.
“Finally, the meeting agreed to constitute a committee to look at all the issues pertaining to the constitutional amendment and revert to members within a reasonable time,†the communique read.
Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution places the exclusive power of amendment to the constitution on the National Assembly with each item proposed for amendment only supported by two-thirds of the 36 Houses of Assembly in the country.
