…..Constitution review: Reps conclude voting on first 68 bills, pass LG autonomy, independent candidacy, others, Women get 20% ministerial, commissionership appointments
The House of Representatives successfully concluded voting on its first set of 68 constitution amendment bills on Tuesday.
The exercise, which was presided over by the Speaker, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, was conducted through the electronic platform of the House, otherwise known as e-voting.
Most of the amendment bills secured the mandatory two-thirds votes (240) of the 360-member legislature.
Tuesday’s session was witnessed by the wife of the Vice-President, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, who came to canvass support for bills promoting women’s interest, especially political participation and gender-based violence.
She came in the company of the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen.
The First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari, had a similar visit to the House earlier last week.
Key bills that succeeded on Tuesday included financial autonomy for local governments/abolition of local government, state joint account; financial independence for state legislatures and the judiciary; independent candidacy; the power of the National Assembly/State Assemblies to summon the President/Governors to answer questions; President to give annual State of the Nation Address to Parliament; migration of prisons from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list; empowering states to build and own airports; states to generate, distribute electricity in areas covered by the National Grid; and making basic education compulsory and free for all children.
Among the bills that failed was that on immunity for legislators; pension for presiding officers of the legislature; expansion of citizenship by registration; indigenship for married persons; Diaspora voting and mode of removing presiding officers of the legislature.
Three of the bills, which failed, also sought to promote gender-balancing by expanding political participation for women, party administration and the creation of special legislative seats for women.
However, the House approved 20 per cent of ministerial and commissionership appointments for women.
It came through a surprise intervention by Speaker Gbajabiamila, who had tirelessly appealed to his colleagues to pass the gender bills.
In a final move to protect the image of the House, the Speaker resorted to calling a voice vote in the very last minutes to secure the 20 per cent appointments for the women.
……Constitution Alteration Voting at Senate
Bill No. 29 – for an Act to Move Airports from Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List; and for Related Matters.
84 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 30 – for an Act to move Fingerprints, Identification and Criminal Records from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List; and for Related Matters.
86 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 31 – for an Act to Delete prisons in the Exclusive Legislative List and Redesignate it as Correctional Services in the Concurrent Legislative List; and for Related Matters.
86 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 32 – for an Act to move Railway from the Exclusive Legislative List to Concurrent Legislative List; and for Related Matters.
92 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 33 – for an Act to allow States Generate, Transmit and Distribute Electricity in Area covered by the National Grid; and for Related Matters.
90 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 34 – for an Act to include Value Added Tax on the Exclusive Legislative List; and for Related Matters.
41 senators voted in favour
STATUS: NOT APPROVED
Bill No. 35 – for an Act to Provide for Special Seats for Women in the National and State Houses of Assembly; and for Related Matters.
30 senators voted in favour
58 senators voted against
STATUS: NOT APPROVED
Bill No. 36 – for an Act to Expand the Scope of Citizenship by Registration; and for Related Matters.
83 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 37 – for an Act to Provide for Affirmative Action for Women in Political Party Administration; and for Related Matters.
34 senators voted in favour
53 senators voted against
STATUS: NOT APPROVED
Bill No. 38 – for an Act to provide Criteria for Qualification to become an Indigene of a State in Nigeria; and for Related Matters.
90 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 39 – for an Act to Empower the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission to Enforce Compliance with Remittance of Accruals into and Disbursement of Revenue from the Federation Account and Streamline the Procedure for Reviewing the Revenue Allocation Formula; and for Related Matters.
94 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 40 – for an Act to Enhance the Independence of Certain Bodies; and for Related Matters.
93 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No 41 – for an Act to Remove Transitional Lawmaking Powers from the Executive Arms of Government; and for Related Matters.
88 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 42 – for an Act to Expand Immunity to the Legislative and Judicial Arms of Government; and for Related Matters.
29 senators voted in favour
50 senators voted against
STATUS: NOT APPROVED
Bill No. 43 – for an Act to Specify the Time within which the Executive shall present to the National Assembly any Treaty between the Federation and any other Country for Enactment; and for Related Matters.
81 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 44 – for an Act to Specify the period within which the President or the Governor of State shall present the Appropriation Bill before the National Assembly or House of Assembly; and for Related Matters.
92 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 45 – for an Act to Require the President or Governors to submit the Names of Persons Nominated as Ministers or Commissioners within thirty days of taking the Oath of Office for Confirmation by the Senate or State House of Assembly,; and for Related Matters.
93 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 46 – for an Act to include Presiding Officers of the National Assembly in the Membership of the National Security Council; and for Related Matters.
73 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 47 – for an Act to Establish State Security Council; and for Related Matters.
92 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 48 – for an Act to Empower the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly Powers to summon the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Governors of States to answer Questions on issues on which the National and State Houses of Assembly have the Power to make Law; and for Related Matters.
77 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 49 – for an Act to reduce the Period within which the President or the Governor of a State may authorize the withdrawal of Monies from the Consolidated Revenue Fund in the absence of an Appropriations Act from six months to three months; and for Related Matters.
83 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 50 – for an Act to Replace the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation with the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government; and for Related Matters.
93 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 51 – for an Act to Establish the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federal Government separate from the Office of the Accountant–General of the Federation; and for Related Matters.
88 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 52 – for an Act to Specify the Timeframe for the Conduct of Population Census; and for Related Matters.
91 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 53 – for an Act to Establish the Office of the Attorney–General of the Federation and of States separate from the Office of the Minister of Justice or Commissioners for Justice of States in order to make the Offices Attorneys–General Independent and Insulated from Partisanship; and for Related Matters.
86 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 54 – for an Act to provide for a State of the Nation and State of the State Address by the President and Governor; and for Related Matters.
89 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
Bill No. 55 – for an Act to include former Heads of the National Assembly in the Council of State; and for Related Matters.
73 senators voted in favour
STATUS: APPROVED
The constitution review is ongoing.
The first set of bills will be transmitted to the 36 state legislatures after the Senate and the House would have harmonised any differences in the voting both chambers did on Tuesday.
The second set of bills is expected soon for another round of voting.
