The House of Representatives Thursday passed for second reading, a Bill for an Act to repeal Treaties (Making Procedure) Act, Cap 120, Laws of Federation of Nigeria 2004 and to re-enact new Treaties (Making Procedure) to protect Nigeria’s sovereignty and economic power.
Sponsored by Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta), section 8 of the Bill makes it mandatory for approval of the two Houses of the National Assembly to first be sought and obtained before any Ministry, Department and Agency (MDAs) body or person signs any Treaty or Agreement for and on behalf of the Federation of Nigeria with any other country or foreign based company or foreign body.
This, according to Ossai, will forestall the repetition of Nigeria and China loans agreements and others.
Section 9 of the Bill equally makes it mandatory for MDAs, body or person who is a party in any signed Treaty or Agreement with any country to within one month transmit same to the Federal Ministry of Justice which is the depository of all Treaties and to the two Houses of the National Assembly.
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It also seeks to avoid conflict with the Constitution and ensure conformity as some of the provisions of section 3 of the Principal Act that talks of ”Classification of Treaties” is in conflict with section 12 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution which provides for ”Implementation of Treaties and Agreements.”
The Bill removes the word ”Classification” as provided in the Principal Act and only extends the Implementation provision of the Constitution.
The proposed legislation provides in the same way as it is in the Constitution that Treaties and Agreements shall not be presented to the President for assent.
It adopted the provisions of section 12(2) of the Constitution by including both the Concurrent and Exclusive Legislative Lists as matters to be legislated upon by the National Assembly.
Section 8 of the Bill which provides for approval of the National Assembly before any Treaty or Agreement entered into by MDAs should be signed, upholds Order 18 Rules 93 of the House Standing Orders which directs the Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements to be, ”Liaising with all the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government (MDAs) before Treaties are entered into by the Federal Government pursuant to section 12 of
the Constitution”.
In a debate before the Bill scaled through second reading, the sponsor, Ossai argued that: “considering the role of Nigeria both in Bilateral and Multilateral Agreements in the West African Sub-region, in the politics of Africa Union and the United Nations, and the impact of Nigeria adhering and imbibing global best legislative practice and procedure with regards to Treaty Making Procedure, it is obvious that repealing of the Principal Act and re-enacting a new one is long overdue and there is no better time than now”.
