Again, devolution of power bill suffers major setback

Again, the devolution of power bill suffered major setback as the House of Representatives passed 21 constitutional amendment bills through third reading.

BusinessDay had exclusively reported that the internal wrangling between the Senate and the House led to the delay in the transmission of the Constitution amendment to the State Houses of Assembly.

The Senate had declined to harmonize with the House following the non-passage of the Constitutional amendment through extant legislative process.

According to the House, the 21 amendment bills were not passed through third reading, but in compliance with the resolution reached by the parties, the House listed and passed the 21 bills for Third reading.

The leadership of the House had on resumption from the annual recess, inaugurated an Ad-hoc Committee on political agitations, and resolved to include the recommendations of the nationwide consultation into the Devolution of power as part of the Constitution amendment.

It was however uncertain whether the 21 bills would be transmitted to the State Houses of Assembly or await the conclusion of the Ad-hoc committee’s work before transmitting the Constitution amendment to the State legislature.

The bills seek to ‘Include former Heads of the National Assembly in the Council of State’; ‘Reduce the period within which the President or the Governor of a State may authorise the withdrawal of monies from the Consolidated Revenue Fund in the absence of an Appropriation Act from 6 months to 3 months’; ‘Provide for funding of the House of Assembly of States directly from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the State’; ‘Abrogate the State Joint Local Government Accounts and empower each Local Government Council to maintain its own Special Account and make provisions for savings in the Federation Account before distribution to other levels of Government’; ‘Strengthen Local Government Administration in Nigeria’; ‘Provide immunity for members of the Legislature in respect of words spoken or written at plenary sessions or Committee proceedings and institutionalize legislative bureaucracy in the Constitution; ‘Provide the Independent National Electoral Commission with sufficient time to conduct Bye-elections and provide grounds for de-registration of political parties’; ‘Provide for timely passage of bills’; ‘Require the President and Governors to submit the names of persons nominated as Ministers or Commissioners within 30 days of taking the oath of office for confirmation by the Senate or State House of Assembly’; ‘provide for independent candidature in elections; ‘Change the name of the Police from Nigeria Police Force to Nigerian Police to reflect their core mandate of providing Civil Services’; ‘disqualify a person who was sworn-in as President or Governor to complete the term of the Elected President or Governor from being elected to the same office for more than a single term and establish the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federal Government separate from the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

Others are bills seekimg to ‘Make the Offices of the Auditor-General and Attorney-General of the Federation and for the State financially independent by placing them on the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation and of the State’; ‘strengthen the Judiciary for speedy dispensation of justice’; ‘Provide Time for the determination of pre-election matters’; ‘reflect the establishment and core functions of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps’; ‘Procedure for passing a Constitution alteration bill where the President withholds assent’; ‘reflect the establishment of the Investments and Securities Tribunal under the Constitution’; ‘Reduce the age for qualification for the offices of the President and Governor and membership of the Senate, House of Representatives and the State House of Assembly and specify the period within which the President or Governor of a state shall present the Appropriation bill before the National Assembly or House of Assembly.

Also at plenary, the Speaker eventually sworn-in Dorothy Mato, as member representing Vandeikya/Konshisha federal constituency of Benue state.

The swearing in ceremony came after over three months of dilly dallying by the leadership of the House on the replacement of Herman Hembe, former chairman House Committee on FCT who was sacked by the Supreme Court on the 23rd June, 2017.

According to the apex court ruling, Hembe who was sacked for not being the proper candidate of the All Progressives Party (APC), was asked to refund all renumeration that had accrued to him since he was in the House.

The Apex Court ordered INEC to immediately withdraw the certificate of return issued to Hembe and issue same to Mato; and ordered the Speaker of the House to swear- in Mato as Hembe’s replacement.

But Hembe in a surprise twist, had filed a motion on notice dated 18, 2017, in the Supreme Court asking the Court to reverse the judgement.

According to him, the judgement was done “In error arising from an accidental slip.”

But the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Onnoghen in a September 20 ruling on the issue insisted that the court being the Apex court of the land cannot reverse itself.

The Supreme Court had also expressed displeasure over the reluctance of the leadership of the House to swear-in Dorothy Mato as Hembe’s replacement since it gave a judgement to that effect on June 23, 2017.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Onnoghen, also expressed the disappointment of the Court with the attitude of the House leadership over the Mato ruling.

He described the reluctance of the House to abide with the ruling as “a very terrible paragraph in the history of the nation’s democracy.”

 

KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja