The senate will no longer continue with the process of overriding President Goodluck Jonathan’s veto on the 2015 constitution amendment bill, developments at the upper chamber have shown.
The bill, which has been gazetted, was scheduled for legislative treatment on Tuesday, but the process was suspended.
On Wednesday, the senate, presided over by David Mark, had an executive session, after which it decided to stay action on the bill since the supreme court had ruled that both the national assembly and the federal government should maintain the status quo on the matter.
“We are law makers and will not be law breakers. We are not just lawmakers; we are very senior responsible citizens and very senior lawmakers,” Mark said.
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In April, President Goodluck Jonathan had approached the Supreme Court of Nigeria to void any attempt of the national assembly to pass into law the 2015 constitution amendment bill.
President Jonathan had rejected amendments made by the national assembly to the 1999 constitution, citing 12 errors in the amendment bill.
In suit SC/214/2015 filed at the supreme court by Mohammed Adoke, attorney general of the federation, the federal government argued that the bill was not passed by four-fifths of the two chambers of the national assembly as stipulated in sections 48 and 49 of the Nigerian constitution.
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The 2015 constitution amendment bill which made provisions for independent candidature as well as the separation of the office of the attorney-general of the federation from office of the minister of justice was passed by the national assembly in February. The bill also had a provision which stripped the president of the powers to assent to constitution amendment bills.
In a letter to David Mark, senate president, and Aminu Tambuwal, speaker of the house of representatives, read on the floor of the senate, Jonathan stated that he was withholding his assent to the bill owing to the reason that it was against the provision of section 9(3) of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.
The president outlined errors inherent in the bill thus:
- Non-compliance with the threshold specified in Section 9(3) of the 1999 Constitution on amendments;
- Alteration to constitution cannot be valid with mere voice votes unless supported by the votes of not less than four-fifths majority all members of National Assembly and two-thirds of all the 36 State Houses of Assembly;
- Right to free basic education and primary and maternal care services imposed on private institutions
- Flagrant violation of the doctrine of separation of powers,
- Unjustified whittling down of the Executive powers of the Federation vested in the President by virtue of Section 5(1) of the 1999 Constitution;
- 30 days allowed for assent of the President; and
- Limiting expenditure in default of appropriation from 6months to three months
- The others are creation of the office of accountant-general of the federation distinct from the accountant general of the federal government
- Empowering National Economic Council to appoint the Accountant-General of the Federation instead of the President;
- Allowing NJC to now appoint the Attorney-General of the Federation rather than the President;
- Unwittingly whittling down the discretionary powers of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
“In view of the foregoing and absence of credible evidence that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Fourth Alteration) Act 2015 satisfied the strict requirements of Section 9(3) of the 1999 Constitution, it will be unconstitutional for me to assent to it,” he said.
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