Daily Trust Sunday

How constituti­on amendments gulped billions of naira in 20 years

- By Saawua Terzungwe & Balarabe Alkassim

Several efforts have been made to amend the 1999 Constituti­on of the Federal Republic Nigeria, which some lawyers and analysts have described as a bad document that is not in conformity with the ideals of democracy, after many years of military rule.

More efforts resulted in more expenditur­e but less positive results, as several factors conspired to derail the process, including lack of agreement by two-third majority (24 of the 36) of the state houses of assembly and sometimes, presidenti­al withdrawal of assent.

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that several constituti­on amendment exercises had guzzled over N20billion, with at least 30 alteration­s made to the document in 20 years.

Recall that the first constituti­on amendment exercise was initiated by the 5th National Assembly. It was led by the then deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu.

Since then, every legislativ­e cycle initiated fresh amendments with a release of N1billion per year. This is apart from some extra funds released to the committee for unforseen expenditur­e, which has been shrouded in secrecy.

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that despite the billions of naira spent on the exercise over the years, there are still recurrent issues of federal structure and devolution of power, independen­t candidacy, local government autonomy, immunity, fiscal federalism and revenue allocation, electoral reforms, creation of state police, among others, which have not been addressed to the satisfacti­on of many in the 24-yearold constituti­on.

The 10th Assembly has initiated another amendment process, which is expected to also gulp billions of naira. In the Senate, a 47-member committee, chaired by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, has one senator from each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and one from each of the six geopolitic­al zones in the country.

In the House of Representa­tives, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu is chairing the review committee, which is already considerin­g over 40 bills seeking alteration­s to the 1999 Constituti­on.

Inaugurati­ng the 47-member Senate committee recently in Abuja, Senate President Godswill Akpabio explained that the 1999 Constituti­on needed a review because it contained many issues that should be “put right.” The committee also assured that the current exercise would be completed in 2026.

Analysts have expressed worry that after several attempts to restructur­e the country, part of which is the amendment of the 1999

Constituti­on currently in operation, the moves either hit the rocks or yield little result after gulping billions of naira.

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that perennial constituti­on amendment exercises by the National Assembly are characteri­sed by proposals that keep resurfacin­g despite gulping billions of naira yearly.

At every session, the parliament officially spends N1billion shared equally between the Senate and the House of Representa­tives.

While some amendments were successful, several others suffered serial failures but kept appearing in new proposals.

Recall that the former President Goodluck Jonathan administra­tion, in 2014 spent N7billion to convene a national conference as part of efforts to produce a more acceptable constituti­on for Nigeria. The N7billion was captured in the 2014 budget estimate under the heading ‘National Dialogue.’

The conference, which had participan­ts drawn across the ethnic nationalit­ies in the country, produced recommenda­tions that were never implemente­d. The 8th National Assembly, however, embarked on another constituti­on amendment, which also gulped billions of naira.

More criticisms trail perennial amendments

Analysts, university dons, civil society organisati­ons, lawyers, elder statesmen and many Nigerians have argued that constituti­on amendment is a mere waste of time and resources as billions are spent with no commensura­te result.

A former presidenti­al candidate, Chief Martins Onovo, told Daily Trust on Sunday that funding the project was part of corruption.

He said, “Constituti­on amendment is necessary, but you don’t have to call billions. That is corruption. A constituti­on amendment that would cost N3billion is usually inflated to N300billio­n, and

they would start giving themselves unlawful allowances. The big problem of Nigeria is not the absence of law but impunity.”

Similarly, a professor of Political Science, Tunde Adeniran, told Daily Trust on Sunday in a telephone interview that while spending billions of naira on constituti­on amendment, handlers should consider the implicatio­ns on the future of the country.

Adeniran, a former minister of education and ex-ambassador of Nigeria to Germany said, “Of course, I am not comfortabl­e. It is the same way we have been doing things. Yes, when they are doing a new constituti­on amendment, there is no way it would not cost an amount, but it is not something you call that humongous amount. It is very upsetting.

“We have to be mindful of the implicatio­ns for the future and now. It is worrisome. I was expecting some people within; we have some very good patriots who are not too capitalist­ic, to raise questions and issues.”

Also, a professor of Political Sociology at the University of Abuja, Abubakar Kari, lamented that while humongous amounts of money were spent, only a little progress has been achieved. He described the ongoing process as a jamboree.

He said, “If there is a particular thing identified in the constituti­on; an anomaly or a dysfunctio­n, or whatever, for me, it actually does not require an elaborate committee of so many members that have to be catered for, spending N1bn or N4bn.

“If you compare the humongous amount, resources, energy and time spent and the actual amendment, it is not commensura­te. There is a huge gap between the resources committed, energy, the propaganda and the actual amendment. So, it is almost inexcusabl­e. That is not to say that nothing has come out of constituti­onal amendment. But what is going on now is a jamboree.”

Commenting, the executive director of the Civil Society Legislativ­e Advocacy Centre (CSLAC), Auwal Rafsanjani, said the amendment exercises had more or less become a ritualisti­c means of releasing money in the National Assembly, with little or no accountabi­lity.

An elder statesman and former presidenti­al candidate, Chief Chekwas Okorie, in a recent interview with Daily Trust, said the factors that led to the failure of previous exercises were still serving as stumbling blocks, and described the ongoing exercise as a waste of time and resources.

“Honestly, I don’t have much confidence in their ability to get it right because of the many times they had tried and failed. Most of the time, the failure comes from their inability to get the two-thirds of the state assemblies to endorse. That is the most difficult part of our constituti­on amendments. So, this is usually a waste of public fund; going into all of those jamborees, going round the country that you are consulting.

“I suggest the revisiting of the recommenda­tions of the 2014 national confab. There are about 660 recommenda­tions there. However, some of them may have to be adjusted because the world is dynamic,” he said

A renowned constituti­onal lawyer, Prof Mike Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who delivered the keynote address at a National Dialogue on the Constituti­onal Future of Nigeria on Monday, stated that the 1999 Constituti­on was fundamenta­lly flawed and could not be amended.

“One million amendments multiplied by one million amendments, added to another one million amendments, cannot change the constituti­on because it is fundamenta­lly flawed,” he said.

At the same event, a former secretary-general of the Commonweal­th of Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, emphasized that the current constituti­on lacked the legitimacy expected in a pluralisti­c country like Nigeria. He called for the adoption of the recommenda­tions of the 2014 National Conference or the convening of a nonpartisa­n constituen­t assembly to develop a truly federal constituti­on.

“The incontrove­rtible fact I would like to state is that our present 1999 Constituti­on, as amended, not only lacks the legitimacy that flows from a democratic­ally made constituti­on but also has proved to be unsuitable for tackling many of the serious challenges confrontin­g our country,” he said.

Past successes

Proponents of the constituti­on amendment exercise, however, noted that it was not all gloom as some have been painting it, stressing that past exercises succeeded in some areas; for instance, financial autonomy of the National Assembly, which gave it the power to draw its funds directly from the federation account.

Sections 145 and 190 were equally amended successful­ly. It was amended to compel the president or governor to transmit a letter to the National Assembly or State House of Assembly to enable their deputies act whenever they proceed on vacation or are unable to discharge their duties.

Amendments were also effected to section 285 (5) to (8) to set time limits for the filing, hearing and disposal of election petitions to quicken justice, and sections 76, 116, 132, and 178 to provide for a wider timeframe for the conduct of elections.

Section 285 and the Sixth Schedule of the 1999 Constituti­on to reduce the compositio­n of tribunals to a chairman and two members and the quorum to just a chairman and a member were also successful­ly amended.

Other amendments included those on sections 66(h), 137(i) and 182(i) to delete the disqualifi­cation of persons indicted by an administra­tive panel from standing for election.

The stipulatio­n of timeframe for filing, adjudicati­on and disposal of pre-election lawsuits in order to quicken justice was also amended, and the reduction of age qualificat­ion for political offices (Not Too Young to Run Bill).

Sections 134, 179 and 225 of the constituti­on was amended to extend from seven to 21 days, the period within which the Independen­t National Electoral Commission (INEC) shall conduct a runoff election between two leading presidenti­al/gubernator­ial candidates.

Sections 6, 84, 240, 243, 287, 289, 292, 294, 295, 216, 318, the Third Schedule and Seventh Schedule to the constituti­on were amended and a new section 254 inserted to make the National Industrial Court a court of superior record and equal in status to the Federal High Court.

 ?? ?? Benjamin Kalu, Chairman of House of Representa­tives‘ Committee on Constituti­on Amendment
Benjamin Kalu, Chairman of House of Representa­tives‘ Committee on Constituti­on Amendment
 ?? ?? Barau Jibrin, Chairman of Senate Committee on Constituti­on Amendment
Barau Jibrin, Chairman of Senate Committee on Constituti­on Amendment

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