Constitution Amendment Bill: How state assemblies will vote

By DESMOND MGBOH (Kano), TONY OSAUZO (Benin), TUNDE OMOLEHIN (Sokoto), BAMIGBOLA GBOLAGUNTE (Akure), OLANREWAJU LAWAL (Birnin Kebbi), NOAH EBIJE (Kaduna), LAIDE RAHEEM (Abeokuta), GEORGE ONYEJIUWA (Owerri), PAUL OSUYI (Asaba), TIMOTHY OLANREWAJU (Maiduguri/Damaturu)

The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, penultimate week proposed a total of 32 amendments to the constitution. The amendment bill is expected to be transmitted to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for deliberation and passage. In this report, from across the country, Sunday Sun presents a snapshot of how the various assemblies are likely to vote on the bill when sent to them by the National Assembly. 

KANO

Indications emerging from the Kano State House of Assembly showed that a few of the proposed amendments would be rejected by the House members. Sunday Sun gathered from assembly sources that first on the list of the proposals that would be turned down in Kano is Bill No 3, 2017 (Devolution), which seeks to  give more legislative  powers to states and plans to alter the Second schedule (Part 1) of the 1999 Constitution. Expectedly, the bill is suspected, as many see it, as a quiet form of restructuring the Nigeria state through the back door.

Another bill which may not fly on the floor of the Kano State House of Assembly is Bill No 5, 2017, which seeks to abrogate the States and Local Government Joint Account and empower each local government to run its accounts independent of the state.

Assembly sources expressed doubt about this, saying that although the individual legislatures may have nothing against the bill, chances were that “external pressure” may seek to kill the bill.

According to the source, in the light of the fact that Kano has 44 local government areas, removing this fund from the influence of the state would amount to a great setback to the executive.

It is also doubtful if Bill No 14, 2017 (bill on Independent candidate) would scale through bearing in mind the current politics of the state which is structured on two equal political blocks. If independent candidates were allowed to contest, it would enable popular aspirants, not endorsed by their parties, to come from behind to clinch the victory.

Sunday Sun gathered that such bills that seek to provide immunity for the legislature in respect of the statements/comments on the floor of the house and the bill which seeks to grant financial autonomy to state legislative houses by allowing them to draw from the consolidated account are likely to pass. The source said that any bill that gives the legislatures more powers would not be defeated.

The source hinted however, that the response of the House would depend on a thorough study of the bills, interactions and consultation with their constituencies and the position of the leaders of thought. He ruled out a situation whereby members would vote arbitrarily on the amendments.

The Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly , Hon Abdullahi Atta, could not be reached for his comments as at the time of filing this report.

EDO

It is not certain yet how the Edo State House of Assembly will vote on the contentious issues of devolution of power, autonomy for local government councils and Land Use Act.

The National Assembly has already voted against devolution of more power to the states and amendment of the Land Use Act which vests all lands in the states. It also voted for autonomy to local government councils.

When Sunday Sun sought to know how the Edo State Assembly is likely to vote on those issues, particularly devolution of power for which Nigerians have since been berating the stand of the National Assembly, a top official of the legislature who did not want to be mentioned, said: “It is difficult to grant an interview on the constitution amendment. We are yet to see what we will vote on. But when the issues are tabled, we will vote in the interest of our people.”

SOKOTO

In Sokoto State, the cordial relationship existing between the legislature and executive arms of government will determine how the bills passed by the National Assembly will be voted in the State.

Currently, both the leadership and members of the State House of Assembly are enjoying smooth romance with the State Governor; an indication that the House decisions could have undertone influence from the executive.

Also in recent times, the Speaker of the House, Alhaji Salihu Maidagi at various fora had pledged allegiance to the state governor, Alhaji  Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, on behalf of the lawmakers.

Sunday Sun recall that such synergy was evidence in most of the bills presented by the executive before the House, which get duly automatic passage on the floor without any hindrance.

Base on that, some political analysts in the state, have assumed that the voting pattern by the State lawmakers could be based on YES and NO list of the executive.

For instance, the Autonomy for Local Government bill may not see the light of the day based on the recent contradicted view of the state governor.

In other hand, House may support a bill seeking Compulsory, Free Universal Education which was sponsored by the immediate past Governor of the state , and now a Senator, Alhaji Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko.

Speaking with our Correspondent in Sokoto, a constitutional lawyer, Barrister Nuradeen Aliyu reasoned that most of the bills could scale through if it gets executive backing. 

“The state lawmakers will definitely go for all the wishes of the executive. That is what is going to happen in Sokoto State, because of the much influence of the executive over the legislature.

“This is a State where the budget presented by the executive was barely debated on or scrutinized before passing it into law by the House. So, all their votes on these bills are going to be teleguided by the executive.” Aliyu noted.

Efforts to speak with the Speaker of the House, Alhaji Maidaji was abortive, as he was unaccessible while repeated calls on his phone was not returned.

However, a lawmaker who preferred to speak on the condition of anonymity said the House may consult the executive before deliberating to vote on the bills.

“There is nothing wrong if we (House) make duly consultations with other arms of government before the voting exercise. All what we want is to have laws that will enhance and promote good governance.” He explained.

ONDO

The Ondo State House of Assembly has said that though it is yet to have a position on the constitutional amendment bill currently before the National Assembly, it will defend the interest of the people of the state in the bill.

The House noted that the constitution amendment bill is a welcome development and assured that it would use the opportunity to right some wrongs in the 1999 Constitution of the country.

The Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon Iroju Ogundeji, who spoke with Sunday Sun said: “The Ondo State House of Assembly has not decided on how to vote on the constitution amendment bill and we will not decide until we have the amended copy and study it well.”

Ogundeji added: “We cannot cross the bridge until we get to it. The National Assembly has not transmitted the amended copy of the bill to us, so, we have not seen what to decide on. Until we see it, we cannot discuss on it because we have many matters before us in the Ondo State House of Assembly.

“We cannot rely on what we are reading on the pages of newspapers or what we are hearing on the electronic media. We must be armed with a copy of the amended bill before we commence debate on our voting pattern.”

The Deputy Speaker who promised that the House would vote in line with the wish of the people of the State, said “we are still expecting the amended copy to be transmitted to us.”

He therefore urged the leadership of the National Assembly to expedite action on the transmission of the amended copy of the constitution amendment bill to the 36 state assemblies. He said the House may seek the view of some stakeholders in the state while deciding on how to vote when the amended copy of the bill is sent to it.

“We will not rush into it. We will take our time to study every section of the bill and we will make wide consultation before we vote. There is nothing to rush about in the matter. It is an issue that needs patience and we will dedicate time to it,” he stressed.

KEBBI

In his reaction, Speaker, Kebbi State House of Assembly, Alhaji Samaila Abdulmumin Kamba, in a telephone interview with Sunday Sun, said the assembly was still awaiting a copy of the Constitution Amendment Bill, which is to be sent to the Kebbi State House of Assembly by the National Assembly.

Kamba, who commended the National Assembly for their efforts on Constitution amendment, said the Conference of the Speakers had appreciated them for their efforts.

“We commended them on their efforts at the Speakers Forum for a good job and we are waiting for them to send the copies to us,” he said.

While speaking on the pattern of voting the state may follow, the Speaker said he personally supports local government autonomy and the proposed inclusion of independent candidacy for individuals seeking election to the state legislature.

“When they send the Constitution Amendment Bills to us, we shall call the people of the state to vote on various amended issues in the constitution.”

KADUNA

Kaduna State House of Assembly has said that it was yet to receive the constitution amendment bills from the National Assembly.

The Majority Leader, Kaduna State House of Assembly, Honourable Haruna Inuwa who spoke with Sunday Sun said that the house had not received the bills at the time of filling this report.

Honourable Inuwa, however, added that local government autonomy had already been proposed by the State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

He said it will not be new to them if same is seen in the constitution amendment because the house members are in support of the autonomy.

“We will keep you posted as soon as the bill is sent to us from the National Assembly,” he told Sunday Sun reporter on the phone.

OGUN

The Speaker, Ogun State of Assembly, Suraj Adekunbi, has said that the ongoing constitutional amendment is not the first one to be embarked on by the National Assembly, noting that there was one done by the Sixth National Assembly, which was aborted and not eventually accented to by the then President.

Speaking on how the state assembly would vote on the current Constitution Amendment, he said: “I want to say that since the inception of the current constitution amendment by the National Assembly, we, at the Ogun State House of Assembly, have been part and parcel of the process. And whatever is the position of the National Assembly, we will support it, so far as such position addresses the yearnings and aspirations of our people. I know you would want to talk about amendment on our own autonomy, that one is not negotiable. On the local government autonomy, our position will also back this.

“If you could recall, Ogun State House of Assembly voted in support of the two amendments in the last constitution amendment exercise. This is because the governor here is a democrat, who believes in true federalism. So like we were among the states that voted for these two crucial amendments previously, we shall repeat the same.

“On the amendment to scrap the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) and of allow INEC to conduct local government elections in Nigeria, I want to say that when we get to the bridge, we shall cross it. When the document gets here, we will do our part. And of course, we won’t do anything without a recourse to our constituents who voted us into the Assembly.”

IMO

In Imo State, all efforts to obtain the official position of the Imo House of Assembly from the Speaker, Rt. Honourable Achor Ihim or his deputy, Hon Ugonna Ozuruigbo, on how the state legislature would vote on the Constitution Amendment Bill, were unsuccessful as neither of them took the calls made to their mobile numbers or responded to text messages.

However, the Minority Leader of the Assembly, Hon. Ken Agbim of the Peoples Democratic Party, who spoke on the matter expressed his personal views, stating that the issue of the Constitution Bill had not been brought before the legislature.

Agbim, who represents Ahiazu Mbaise state constituency said that the current amendment would strengthen the democratic culture in the country, stressing his belief that his colleagues would vote overwhelmingly on the proposed amendments by the National Assembly whenever the bill is received by the state assembly. He said he does not expect that any reasonable member of the legislature would vote against financial autonomy for state assemblies and local governments.

His words: “I am speaking in my personal capacity because the bill on the amended sections of the constitution as done by the National Assembly has not yet been received by the House and so it has not been discussed. Besides, the House is currently on a recess, but I don’t think that any member of the assembly will vote against the financial autonomy for the state assemblies which will not only make them independent but to enable the members carry out their constitutionally assigned oversight functions because that is what the House is supposed to be doing, which is not what is happening now, as the House needs finances to carry out its duties effectively.

Again, on the issue of autonomy for the local governments, I don’t think that any member will vote against their financial autonomy because it is the tier of government closest to the people and so the elected chairmen should be independent of the state governments unlike what is happening now where the allocations of the councils are paid into a joint account with the state where the governors do whatever they like to do with it. It is the same for council elections which the National Assembly has voted on, transferring the responsibility for organizing council elections from state electoral bodies to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and I also don’t think that anybody in the House would vote against that amendment going by what we have seen so far, where council elections conducted by state governments have been bastardized.”

Agbim expressed optimism that the state legislature would receive the amendment bills this week, stressing that as soon as the House receives the amendment bills, it might suspend its recess to deliberate on the matter.

DELTA

Members of the Delta State House of Assembly have been on vacation after they adjourned plenary on July 20, 2017, to resume on August 22, 2017. As a result, all the lawmakers including the Speaker, Mr. Sheriff Oborevwore, his deputy, Friday Osanebi, Majority Leader, Tim Owhefere travelled out of the country.

Hence, getting their views on the direction the House will follow in the ongoing constitution amendment by the National Assembly was not possible.

But a source close to the Speaker told Sunday Sun that the assembly will do what the general public expects it to do as far as the amendment is concerned.

Speaking with Sunday Sun on the phone, the source who preferred not to be named in print because he was not authorized to speak, said: “Delta State House of Assembly is one of the most vibrant state legislatures across the country. As such, Nigerians in general, and Deltans in particular will be taken into consideration when the members are voting on the draft amendment from the National Assembly.

“Nigerians are yearning for a people’s constitution that will accommodate the interest of all, irrespective of social, economic and political leaning. So the amendment is a welcome development, and I trust that Delta State House of Assembly will give it the needed attention.”

BORNO/YOBE

In the northeast states of Borno and Yobe, officials at the two assemblies told Sunday Sun that the leaderships of the two legislatures were unwilling to comment on the amendment bill, until it is finally sent to the legislative chambers in the two states.

Director of Information, Borno State House of Assembly, Hajiya Kaltume Bello-Jubrilla said the Speaker, Hon Abdulkarim Lawan was unavailable. “For now, the Speaker wouldn’t want to speak on the bill until it is sent to us. Members are still expecting it and would comment extensively when it is forwarded to the house by the National Assembly,” she said.

Also the spokesman of the Yobe State House of Assembly, Malam Wakil Mohammed, expressed similar position. “We haven’t received the amendment bill from the National Assembly and it will be prejudicial to start making comments on what the house hasn’t seen its content. The Speaker, Rt Hon Adamu Dala Dogo, will comment as soon as the bill gets to the Yobe State House of Assembly,” he told Sunday Sun.

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