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The National Assembly Joint Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, led by Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu, will today submit its report to the National Assembly as well as a draft bill on the amendment of the constitution.
The National Assembly Joint Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, led by Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu, will today submit its report to the National Assembly as well as a draft bill on the amendment of the constitution.
The draft bill, entitled 'The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Draft Amendment) Bill 2006," is coming ahead of debate on the issue by the two chambers of the National Assembly.
This is coming at a time some members of the Mantu committee have petitioned Senate President Ken Nnamani protesting the methodology adopted in the compilation of the report.
In Section 130, the bill said that the presidency would rotate among the six geopolitical zones on the basis of North and South, adding that 'during the tenure of any of the geopolitical zones of the North or South, candidates from each of the zones in that region shall be eligible to contest an election."
The bill nullified the practice whereby the vice president succeeds the president in the event of death or removal from office. In Section 130, subsection 6, the bill said: 'Where the office of president becomes vacant by reason of death, removal, incapacity to discharge the function of the office or resignation, the vice president shall hold office for a period of not more than three months during which time an election of a new president from the zone of the former president shall be held to complete the unexpired term of office."
The draft bill also said that the post of governor will rotate among the three senatorial districts in the state, adding also, that in case of death, resignation or incapacity of the governor, the deputy governor would hold forth for three months within which another candidate from the same senatorial district of the former governor would be elected.
Section 162, okays direct allocation to local government areas from the Federal Account. 'The amount standing to the credit of the local government councils in the Federation Account shall be allocated directly to the local government councils concerned in such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the National Assembly," the draft bill said, adding: 'Each state government shall maintain an account for joint purpose for all the local governments to be called ‘Local Government Account' into which shall be paid the internally generated revenue accruable to the local government area of jurisdiction, such revenue (excluding the sum received from the Federation Account) on such term and in such manner as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly of the state."
Meanwhile, some members of the Joint Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution have written a letter to the Senate President protesting the methodology adopted in the committee. In the petition they said: 'We strongly urge the Senate and the House of Representatives to invalidate the recommendations relating to the issue of tenure."
The petitioners include Senators Idris Ibrahim Kuta, (Niger), U. K. Bello (Kano), Uche Chukwumerije (Abia), Umaru Dahiru (Sokoto), Sa'idu Dansadau (Zamfara), Kanti Bello (Katsina) and honourable members Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Tsegba Teringu (Benue), Tukur Nadabo (Katsina) and Nze Chidi Duru (Anambra).
They alleged high handedness and 'rule-of-the-jungle attitude by the committee chairman, Senator Ibrahim Mantu throughout the public hearing proceedings and in the final memorandum prepared at Port Harcourt.
The lawmakers accused Mantu of 'grossly abusing voice vote of his pre-packaged agenda determining any given issue, especially the third term agenda," adding: 'In pursuit of preconceived positions, the chairman routinely ignored rules, law and due process with impunity, using voice vote as a legal instrument of subverting popular will and mocking and making the spirit of rule of law".
They also accused the Presidency of teleguiding Mantu, alleging: 'After the zonal public hearings, chairmen of the zonal sub-committees were directed (and they complied) to submit their findings in a meeting held in the Aso villa, even when members of the committee had not have the opportunity to see the report," stressing that it was against the standing rules of the Senate and House of Representatives.