The Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, yesterday confirmed that the processes of
effecting new amendments to the 1999 Constitution was put on hold because the
Senate and the House had not harmonised their differences on the bills.
The two chambers considered 33
proposals in July, but the outcome of voting indicated that they did not agree
on all the items.
The differences will require a
conference committee of both chambers to harmonise them before the amendments
will be transmitted to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for “approval.”
Dogara spoke at the National
Assembly in Abuja when a delegation of the Conference of Speakers of Nigerian
State Legislatures visited him.
The speakers were led by their
Chairman, Ismaila Abdulmumin-Kamba.
Under the 1999 Constitution, a
proposal to amend the constitution must secure two-thirds majority vote of both
chambers of the National Assembly to pass.
It must in turn secure the
“approval” of two-thirds majority (24) of the 36 states’ Houses of Assembly to
be included in the constitution.
A statement by the Speaker’s
Media Office on Wednesday said Dogara admitted that the new constitution could
not leave the National Assembly because it had yet to be harmonised in Abuja.
“He also explained the delay in
the transmission of the Constitution Amendment Bills recently passed by both
chambers of the National Assembly to state MPs, saying it is as a result of
ongoing consultations between the two houses to harmonise all areas of
differences in order to produce a uniform document”, the statement said.
At the meeting, Dogara also
complained of biting poverty in the country, saying that the legislature at all
levels must join in the search for workable solutions.
“We know that if something has to
be done at the level of government that will translate into a better life for
our people, it must begin from the local government level, at the state level,
and then before we even talk about the federal level,” he added.
The Speaker advised state
lawmakers to be firm in dealing with the executive rather than giving in to all
of their demands.
“In democracy, we worship no one,
we should fear only God but we respect men.
“When you have a parliament that
only responds to the demands of the executive, there is no way we can make
progress. We have to carry out our responsibilities without having any fear at
all,” he said.
The speakers had earlier assured
Dogara that they would act on the constitution bills as soon as they were
transmitted to the states.
Their chairman added, “We, at the
Conference of Speakers, are ready to do justice to these issues. We have
already concluded that whatever you will transmit to us, we will carry our
strata and groups along and agree that whatever the majority may agree on will
be carried out.”
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