THE groundswell of opposition to the bid by the National Assembly to make federal lawmakers automatic members of their parties’ National Executive Committees (NECs) is expected to hit higher gears at the weekend when the 36 state governors meet to deliberate on the matter by considering the Electoral Act under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki, who chairs the Governors’ Forum, disclosed this yesterday in Benin City, Edo State, shortly after he led other governors on a condolence visit to their Edo counterpart, Adams Oshiomhole, who lost his wife, Clara, to breast cancer on Tuesday.
Saraki said:“I have not seen the details of the Act per se. What I know is that the Governors’ Forum will be meeting to look at the Act critically and debate on it with a view of presenting a common stand.
“I think it is a matter of great importance and of great concern to our democracy. It will be premature for me to speak on behalf of everybody. There are feelers from my colleagues that there will be a meeting by the weekend to review and take a position on it.”
Saraki also debunked rumours that he was under pressure to break the consensus presidential candidate agreement by some northern political leaders.
However, the House of Representatives has fixed next Tuesday for the third reading and passage of the controversial amendment of the 2010 Electoral Act, which provided for automatic admission of National Assembly members into the National Executive Committees (NECs) of political parties.
And ahead of the bill’s passage, the House has asked seven of its members to be on standby in case there occurs differences in the version it would pass and that of the Senate.
The seven lawmakers are Samson Positive, Aminu Waziri Tambual, Igo Aguma, Musa Sariki, Cyril Maduabum, Rufus Omeire and Dickson Seriake.
But Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State yesterday faulted the National Assembly’s moves to make federal lawmakers members of their parties’ NEC.
Amaechi, who spoke while receiving Director of Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation, Dalhatu Tafida, at Government House, Port Harcourt, described the bid as “a complete insult to Nigerians.”
Saying that the battle line has been drawn between the electorate and National Assembly members, the governor challenged the federal legislators “to come down home” and seek re-election.
His words: “It is us versus them. Let them come home and run for re-election. I will lead the campaign; if we win them here and they go to NEC and change the result, we will take it up and challenge them in court.
“The National Assembly in Abuja, contrary to the wishes of Nigerians, wants to go ahead to pass a bill empowering them to be members of NEC. By that action, they have taken Nigerians for granted and insulted Nigerians. You have heard about the bill they are passing into law. We need to wait for the interpretation to know who will be a delegate or not.
“By the law, it means only me, Amaechi, my deputy, the Speaker and his deputy are delegates. We were formally negotiating with them but no more negotiation. They should come down and run for re-election.
“We cannot have members of the National Assembly that are bigger than us; we are waiting for them to come home and run for re-election”
But some House members wondered why members of a joint conference committee should be named when the third reading of the Bill had not been done.
When called upon to provide an explanation, Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang, said: “What happened is that yesterday, we concluded consideration of the Bill on the Committee of the whole. Today, we have approved the votes and proceedings and we will do the third reading of the Bill next week.
“But today, this committee was set up in anticipation of the third reading that we will do. The conference committee can only start work when we have done the third reading on Tuesday next week.
“But I need to announce and alert the House that we are yet to do the third reading and it is only after this third reading that the Bill is passed. In fact, the procedure is that when we pass the Bill in third reading, and we have notice that the Senate has passed its own, then we will set up conference committee. Otherwise, we will simply forward it to the Senate for concurrence.”
However, Enang drew the attention of the House to what he called “serious technical and legal shortcomings” in the Bill that could render it illegal, null and void.
Worried by what he called “dangerous loopholes” in the procedures and processes being adopted in preparing the Bill for its eventual passage, Enang advised his colleagues not to rush the processes only to arrive at nothing in future.
He noted that since the key provisions of the Electoral Act amendment Bill were based on the amended Constitution, which had been set aside by the Court. The Bill, when passed, would suffer the same fate.
Enang added: “This amendment that is made appears to be as if we are drafting Constitutions for the political parties. Section 223 of the Constitution made provisions for what the political parties should contain. We cannot tell the party what should be in its own constitution. Therefore, my submission is that what we have done is wrong and inapplicable.
“Belonging to the NEC of your party should be as provided by the constitution of your party. The Constitution of Nigeria does not grant the National Assembly powers to make laws that determine the internal affairs of everybody’s home. It is only the Constitution of a political party that can make you a member of the NEC of the party.”
The lawmaker stressed: “Under the 1999 Constitution, we cannot make the law we’re about to make. The first amendment to the 1999 Constitution that we made has not come into effect because the court had nullified it. It is now a sleeping document. And unless the President assents to it, it has not become the Constitution. The same thing applies to the second amendment.
“It has even now become very dangerous for us to take it to the President for assent because if the President signs it, and it becomes a law, INEC will be forced to conduct elections in January. So that will be a great setback.
“Therefore, what we are doing now based on the first and second amendment to the Constitution, is null and void because that constitution has not come into effect.”
Source:www.ngrguardiannews.com
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