New Constitution: NASS transmits amendment documents to state assemblies

The National Assembly yesterday formally transmitted the documents containing the fourth alteration of the 1999 Constitution to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for their input to the document.

The ceremony, which took place at the National Assembly and presided over by Senate President David Mark, was attended by the Speakers of the 36 state Houses of Assembly who collected the documents personally.

Mark appealed to the Houses of Assembly to expedite the passage of the amendment of the 1999 Constitution handed to them.

This was also as he announced an undisclosed amount of monetary reward for the first State Assembly that would turn in its report on the constitution amendment.

The Senate last Tuesday passed the Conference Committee report of the Constitution Amendment Committee of the National Assembly, which marked the approval of the fourth amendment to the nation's 1999 Constitution.

The transmission of the constitution amendment document to the state Houses of Assembly yesterday was in fulfillment of the constitutional requirement, which requires the consent of at least two-thirds majority of the state Assemblies to any of the items before it can stand amended.

Mark said that the essence of the constitutional amendment was to give expression to the views of Nigerians who participated in the nationwide consultations carried out by members of the National Assembly.

He reiterated that the National Assembly had no special interest to protect in the exercise and that the lawmakers acted based on the wishes and aspirations of Nigerians.

The Senate president urged the state Houses of Assembly to do what was right and what would bring governance near to the people as well as what would be good for our current democratic system.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, told the state lawmakers that the eyes of Nigerians were on them and urged them to do what was right by assenting to the amendments without delay.

He noted that if passed into law, the amendments would guarantee the independence of the legislature, good governance and ensure that the parliament functions effectively.

The Deputy Senate President and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendment, Ike Ekweremadu, told the state lawmakers that the bill being transmitted to them represented an aggregation of the will of the Nigerian people.

He noted that the legislature had long recognised that to secure the future of Nigeria in political, social and economic terms, it must invariably review our constitution to meet the aspirations and needs of our diverse people and to facilitate national development in an equitable manner.

According to him, the durability of constitutions depends on public support as citizens are less inclined to support a constitution without their input.

Ekweremadu noted that by involving citizens in the constitution review process, the legislature had indeed made a huge stride in rekindling the sense of optimism and inclusivity.

He said: 'It is our conviction that this peoplecentred amendment will make Nigerians feel vested in their government, encourage and challenge them to remain active and engaged in the political process, raising questions, demanding answers and criticizing leaders who fail to perform.

'There is no doubt that broad citizens' participation, which was the mainstay of the review process, will add value to the democratic process and improve the quality of governance.

'The amendments set out institutional and legal reforms, which together with sufficient political will, may help to provide for constitutional and other legal guarantees for the practice of true federalism; provide for accountability and transparency in governance; and, create an independent judicial system that would ensure the proper administration of justice in Nigeria.'

Deputy Speaker of the House, Emeka Ihedioha, who is the Chairman of the House Committee on Constitution Amendment, disclosed that the committee upon inauguration formulated 43 items templates, which they took round the states of the federation to deliberate upon.

He stated that in arriving at the proposals, his committee was not out in any way to undermine any institution or persons, but to do the bidding of Nigerians.

Chairman, Nigerian Conference of Speakers and Speaker of the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly, Hon. Samuel Ikon, who responded on behalf of the state lawmakers, assured that unlike in previous alteration exercises, this time around, they would do what was required of them by supporting changes that would advance the current democratic dispensation.

'Let us forget the past and I want to assure Nigerians that this time around it will be yes, yes, yes to all the issues,' Ikon said.