Constitution Amendment: ‘Not end of road for devolution of powers, Land Use Act, others’

Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has expressed optimism that proposed amendments to the 1999 Constitution recently rejected by the National Assembly could still meet the constitutional threshold to become part of the Nigerian constitution when revisited.

Ekweremadu, who commended his colleagues for approving about 95 percent of the recommendations presented by his Committee, said that it was not the end of the road for the failed alteration bills since constitution amendment was a continuum, noting that further consultation as well as understanding of the issues was needed.

The National Assembly had rejected nine proposals at the clause-by-clause consideration of the alteration of the constitution. These include: a bill that seeks to devolve powers to state houses of assemblies, 35 percent Affirmative Action for women at federal levels for appointive offices, a bill on state creation and boundary adjustment, deletion of Land Use Act from the Constitution, deletion of State Independent National Electoral Commission (SIEC) from the Constitution, appointment of Minister from the FCT, change of names of some local government councils, citizenship and indigeneship, removal of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) from the constitution among others.

The National Assembly has come under intense criticism for rejecting the proposals for devolution of powers to the state houses of assemblies,  deletion of Land Use Act from the Constitution as well as rejection of proposals dealing with women emancipation, including 35 percent Affirmative Action and citizenship and indigeneship for women.

Analysts say retaining Land Use Act in the Constitution would negatively impact economic reforms and wealth creation in the country.

The Land Use Act is seen as one of the biggest impediments to converting land resources into individual wealth in the country as it hinders the transferability of ownership rights in landed property without government interference.

Also, political observers say devolution of powers is the bedrock of restructuring of the country, a clamour that has gained momentum in recent times.

Reacting to the development, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, accused members of the party in the Senate of betrayal following the “shocking and saddening” decision of the Senate not to grant devolution of power to the states.

But speaking during a consultative meeting on South East infrastructural development with a delegation of the Partnership to Engage, Reform, and Learn (PERL) and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), Ekweremadu who also chairs the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, stressed that devolution of more powers to the federating units would hasten infrastructural development in the country.

Ekwremadu’s reassurance comes on the heels of an earlier one by Senate President, Bukola Saraki, that the National Assembly had not yet foreclosed some constitution amendment bills that were not approved by the federal legislature.

The Deputy Senate President commended his colleagues for ensuring that “95 percent of the amendments” proposed scaled through.

“We are also conscious of the fact that Nigerians are worried about some of the recommendations that did not pass. Let me use this opportunity to further appreciate and reassure Nigerians that we are sensitive to their feelings and that we are likely going to revisit some of the issues they are concerned about when we return from our vacation.

“Some of the issues did not scale through because there is need for fuller understanding as well as more consultations and consensus building on them and their implications for our people.

“That is why we in the Committee on Constitution Review believe we mean well when we talk about things like devolution of power. Our view is that some of these things should be moved from the Exclusive List to the Concurrent List so that while the Federal Government is making efforts, the States too will be making efforts either individually or in clusters or partnership with one another.

“That was why we took things like power to the Concurrent List so that States can generate power, transmit, and distribute power. The same goes for railway, which is still the exclusive preserve of the Federal Government. That way, Nigeria can effectively speed up socio-economic development in all parts of the country.

“Unfortunately, some of these issues were misunderstood. But it is not the end of the road. We believe that with more engagements, the issues will be better appreciated and we are positive about more favourable dispositions when we revisit them. As leaders we all have our eyes on the future and are committed to building a better Nigeria for posterity,” he said.

Earlier in her remarks, the Team Leader of PERL, Adiya Ode, commended the National Assembly for voting in favour of autonomy for Local Governments and State Houses of Assembly, while also calling for greater support for gender mainstreaming and other amendments that would speed up national development.

She said PERL and DFID were currently working to address infrastructural deficits that impede the business environment in the South East and sought the support of the Deputy President of the Senate towards convening political leaders of the region to discuss issues that would aid the development of the region.