Constitution review: States demand devolution of powers, reject LG autonomy

State lawmakers under the auspices of the Conference of Speakers
of State Houses of Assembly have transmitted passed constitution
alteration bills to the National Assembly in the ongoing
Constitution Review exercise.

Thirty-four of the 36 states of the federation voted on the 29
bills transmitted to them, but Lagos and Rivers states abstained
from the exercise.

Of the 29 bills, 15 were passed, including the ‘Not Too Young To
Run’ bill which seeks to reduce the ages of contestants for the
office of the president, governor and National Assembly membership.
The bill to give independence to state Houses of Assembly was also
passed, while the states rejected autonomy for local
government.

These details were made known by speakers at the transmission
ceremony attended by lawmakers including the Senate President,
Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Yakubu Dogara, in Abuja on Thursday.

The Chairman of the Conference of Speakers, who is also the
Speaker of Kebbi State House of Assembly, Abdulmumin Kamba, stated
that the rejection of devolution of powers by the National Assembly
was condemned by the state legislature.

He said, “While we believe that every proposed amendment
transmitted to the state Houses of Assembly for ratification
reflects the yearning and aspirations of the people, the voting out
of the bill on devolution of power by the National Assembly, which
was part of the original work by this Assembly, has been strongly
condemned

“Therefore, on behalf of our constituents, we want to plead that
the bill on devolution of powers be reconsidered and form part of
the next proposed amendment to the constitution.”

Saraki, in his remarks, expressed his disappointment over Lagos
and Rivers’ withdrawal from the exercise.

He said, “Let me also at this point commend those 34 states. I
must also express my disappointment because I had hoped that this
exercise would have ensured that all states participated fully. The
non-participation of Lagos and Rivers is disappointing. I do hope
that as we move ahead, that Lagos and Rivers will take a different
approach because this is all about the interests of the
country.”

Saraki noted that constitution amendment was not something of
“you can bully me, I can bully you,” stating that, “It is by
dialogue and discussion, by putting Nigeria first that
matters.”

In his remarks, Dogara commended the states for approving
independent legislature while expressing regret over the rejection
of autonomy to the third tier of government.

He said, “I will say that I am a bit disappointed because we
would have delivered the long-awaited local government autonomy
but, unfortunately, maybe our courage did not go that far.

“…This is an exercise that is ongoing. I believe that as this
one failed this time, maybe next time as state Houses of Assembly
are now independent, they would be able to extend this same
independence to local government. We all know the benefits of
freeing the three tiers of government. So, please let us go ahead
and do it.”

Dogara pointed out that since it was the people who spoke
through the passage of the bills, President Muhammadu Buhari should
give speedy assent to them.

He said, “Although we will wait for presidential assent to the
bill, it is our hope that since this thing has passed through all
the legislative processes at the National Assembly and at the state
level, it should not be a problem really for the chief executive to
assent to this because we represent the over 140 million people in
Nigeria and we have spoken through these documents before us.

“I don’t think it would be right at any level, having passed
through all these processes, for these to be returned and without
the bills being transmitted into the provisions of the
constitution. The President is tied to do the wishes of the
people.”

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Lasun,
stated that although Nigerians had different names for
restructuring such as fiscal federalism or devolution of power, the
consensus had been that the country needed development.

State lawmakers under the auspices of the Conference of Speakers
of State Houses of Assembly have transmitted passed constitution
alteration bills to the National Assembly in the ongoing
Constitution Review exercise.

Thirty-four of the 36 states of the federation voted on the 29
bills transmitted to them, but Lagos and Rivers states abstained
from the exercise.

Of the 29 bills, 15 were passed, including the ‘Not Too Young To
Run’ bill which seeks to reduce the ages of contestants for the
office of the president, governor and National Assembly membership.
The bill to give independence to state Houses of Assembly was also
passed, while the states rejected autonomy for local
government.

These details were made known by speakers at the transmission
ceremony attended by lawmakers including the Senate President,
Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Yakubu Dogara, in Abuja on Thursday.

The Chairman of the Conference of Speakers, who is also the
Speaker of Kebbi State House of Assembly, Abdulmumin Kamba, stated
that the rejection of devolution of powers by the National Assembly
was condemned by the state legislature.

He said, “While we believe that every proposed amendment
transmitted to the state Houses of Assembly for ratification
reflects the yearning and aspirations of the people, the voting out
of the bill on devolution of power by the National Assembly, which
was part of the original work by this Assembly, has been strongly
condemned

“Therefore, on behalf of our constituents, we want to plead that
the bill on devolution of powers be reconsidered and form part of
the next proposed amendment to the constitution.”

Saraki, in his remarks, expressed his disappointment over Lagos
and Rivers’ withdrawal from the exercise.

He said, “Let me also at this point commend those 34 states. I
must also express my disappointment because I had hoped that this
exercise would have ensured that all states participated fully. The
non-participation of Lagos and Rivers is disappointing. I do hope
that as we move ahead, that Lagos and Rivers will take a different
approach because this is all about the interests of the
country.”

Saraki noted that constitution amendment was not something of
“you can bully me, I can bully you,” stating that, “It is by
dialogue and discussion, by putting Nigeria first that
matters.”

In his remarks, Dogara commended the states for approving
independent legislature while expressing regret over the rejection
of autonomy to the third tier of government.

He said, “I will say that I am a bit disappointed because we
would have delivered the long-awaited local government autonomy
but, unfortunately, maybe our courage did not go that far.

“…This is an exercise that is ongoing. I believe that as this
one failed this time, maybe next time as state Houses of Assembly
are now independent, they would be able to extend this same
independence to local government. We all know the benefits of
freeing the three tiers of government. So, please let us go ahead
and do it.”

Dogara pointed out that since it was the people who spoke
through the passage of the bills, President Muhammadu Buhari should
give speedy assent to them.

He said, “Although we will wait for presidential assent to the
bill, it is our hope that since this thing has passed through all
the legislative processes at the National Assembly and at the state
level, it should not be a problem really for the chief executive to
assent to this because we represent the over 140 million people in
Nigeria and we have spoken through these documents before us.

“I don’t think it would be right at any level, having passed
through all these processes, for these to be returned and without
the bills being transmitted into the provisions of the
constitution. The President is tied to do the wishes of the
people.”

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Lasun,
stated that although Nigerians had different names for
restructuring such as fiscal federalism or devolution of power, the
consensus had been that the country needed development.