Sunday Okobi
A former Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s admission that only the National Assembly has the constitutional powers to amend the constitution during his Democracy Day broadcast.
Ita -Giwa’s stated that her commendation is premised on the fact that she had held such view for many years.
According to her, as representatives of the people, the National Assembly has the exclusive rights to proceed with the amendments after due consultations with their constituents as being carried out by the ongoing committees nationwide
During his broadcast, Buhari had said his government is not averse to constitutional reform as part of nation-building process, but added that everyone must understand that the primary responsibility for constitutional amendments lies with the National Assembly.
He further assured listeners that the legislature, which is the arm of government responsible for constitutional changes, has concluded the preliminary stages of amending and improving the constitution in a way that the majority of Nigerians would be happy with.
The leader of the Bakassi people in Cross River State in a statement issued yesterday and made available to THISDAY, stated that “the president’s remarks is the needed impetus for the National Assembly to push for the amendments, which Nigerians had yearned for, and that would eventually settle some national questions.”
According to the statement, “I am once again impressed with the submissions of President Buhari on the roles of the National Assembly on constitution amendment.
“As a lawmaker, I had always maintained the stand and position that my colleagues in the National Assembly can and should be encouraged to amend the constitution because it is their sole responsibility as long as they have the willpower to do so.
“With the president recent remarks, I urge them not to relent in pursuing this national assignment and seeing it to a logical end, of which Nigerians would be proud of them and their names would be etched in gold for such heroism.”
The president also assured Nigerians that the government is, however, willing to play a critical role in the constitutional amendment process without usurping the powers of the National Assembly in such regard.
