Constitution amendments ‘dead’ after gulping billions

The constitution amendment bill is “dead and buried” with end of the 7th National Assembly on June 6, senior lawyers and legislators say.

Gone with it is the sum of N4 billion in tax payers’ money that was spent by the National Assembly in the course of the amendment processes.

At the end of the exercise that lasted for over one year former President Goodluck Jonathan vetoed the Bill, accusing the legislators of arrogating to themselves certain powers that belonged to the president.

The 8th Assembly, which was inaugurated on June 9, has included constitutional amendment on its legislative agenda.

However, top lawyers including O.C.J. Okocha Chairman board of the Council of Legal Education (CLE), Joseph Bodunrin Daudu, former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and a Kaduna based constitutional lawyer, Festus Okoye all of them Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in separate interview with Daily

Trust said the amendment process would have to start all over again.

Constitutional lawyer Festus Okoye said that the fate of the 4th amendment to the constitution was subject to speculations.

He, however, added that the issue has to be dealt with before the next general election.

He said what Nigerians lost due to the refusal of the former President to assent to the 4th amendment was enormous.

There should be some level of certainty as we go into election and not become slavish to constitutional amendments so that we can plan based on guidelines.

“The truth of the matter is that the constitution is very clear, when the Senate and the House of Representatives have harmonized their positions it goes to the President for assent, it is either the President assent to the bill or returns it. If he returns it, either the Senate and the House of Representatives agree to the amendment he has made or they override his veto.

“The constitutional alteration is slightly different, this is because in a constitutional alteration it is not only the Senate and the House of Representatives that have the power to amend the constitution, and the State Assemblies also make inputs into constitutional alterations.

“When the President returns it and refuses to sign, it should also go back to the Houses of Assembly before going back to the Senate because constitutional alteration is not a matter of speculation and not a matter to play along with.

“From all intent the 4 th constitutional alterations has ran into deep waters this is because the Supreme Court asked both parties to go and agree but till today nobody knows the fate of that harmonization and settling out of court.

“There are people who are speculating that the President signed it before leaving Office but amendment or alteration of the constitution cannot be reduced to speculations.

“We must shallow our pride and start afresh and the time to do that is now”, Festus Okoye said.

According to the lawyers, the amendment bill will need to be attended to afresh by the current 8th National Assembly members. “The fate of those bills is to go back to the 8 th Assembly”, OCJ Okocha said. He said the constitutional amendment bill was attended to in very awkward manner and without a proper constitutional conference.

“There has to be a serious effort and a document that emanates from the confab would have been the foundation”.

JB Daudu on his part declared that the fourth amendment bill to the 1999 constitution was dead and buried, adding that it has to be started afresh.