News
Governors frustrating Constitution amendment because of ‘LG autonomy’ – Omo-Agege
The Chairman of the Senate Adhoc Committee on Constitution Review, Ovie Omo-Agege, has disclosed that some State governors were bent on frustrating the amendment of Constitution because of the enshrinement of the local Government autonomy.
Omo-Agege stated this at a news briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, saying that 44 bills out 66 earlier recommended were transmitted to the 36 State Houses of Assembly, but only 11 responded and forwarded their resolutions.
He regretted after six months that the bills were transmitted to the Houses of Assembly, about 25 of them were yet to respond, a development he described as “hands of Esau, but the voice of Jacob.”
The States that responded according to the Deputy Senate President are,.Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Delta, Edo, Kaduna, Katsina, Kogi, Lagos, Ogun and Osun, adding that they have performed their Constitutional responsibilities.
He added that the Speakers of 24 Houses of Assembly, through the Conference of Speakers of Houses of Assembly, have written a letter to the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review setting conditions upon which they would pass the bills, adding that governors are behind the action of the Speakers.
States that have vowed not to pass the Bills include Enugu, Imo, Kwara, Cross River, Rivers, Ondo, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Oyo, Taraba, Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Plateau, Benue, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Ekiti and Bayelsa.
Present at the briefing were the Senate Leader Abdullahi Ibrahim Gobir, Senate Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu, Deputy Chief Whip, Aliyu Abdullahi, Minority Whip Chukwuka Utazi, Adamu Aliero and Suleiman Abdu Kwari.
Omo-Agege said: “It is most disheartening to inform you that only 11 State Houses of Assembly have demonstrated their independence and loyalty to the constitution regarding the 44 bills. Twenty four State Houses of Assembly have yet to consider and vote on these bills.
”More worrisome is that while we are still expecting the receipt of the resolutions of the remaining Houses of Assembly, we received a letter from the Conference of Speakers of State Assemblies informing the National Assembly that the remaining states will not act on the 44 Bills, unless the National Assembly passes four new Bills they have proposed in the letter.
He said the National Assembly is not averse “to acting on any proposed Bill or memoranda appropriately tabled before it, at any time in its life.
“However, it is legally inappropriate for the Conference of Speakers to use the four Bills as a quid pro quo to act on the 44 Bills the National Assembly 44 Bills transmitted.”
“Although the Conference of Speakers did not allude to it in their letter, we are aware of the undue interference with legislative processes and the political capture of some State Houses of Assembly by some state governors….
“This interference has been ramped up, especially in opposition to the Bills granting financial and administrative autonomy to local governments.”
He appealed to stakeholders to prevail on the Conference of Speakers to withdraw their threat to truncate the constitution amendment process.
Responding to questions after his address, Omo-Agege insisted that the Constitution amendment process by the ninth National Assembly was not dead.
He added that of the 44 bills before the State Houses of Assembly, “the most fundamental to a lot of us is the local government autonomy, even if they shoot down every other Bill as not being important to them.”
The conference was organised by the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review.
However, neither the Chairman, House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on Constitution Review, Ahmed Wase, nor any member of the committee from the Green Chamber was present at the briefing.
Omo-Agege explained that he had Wase’s blessings to go ahead with the conference.
Meanwhile, the 9th National Assembly has seven months to the end of session and given the tedious legislative processes in the Constitutional amendment, it remains to be seen, if the amendment will succeed.
Senator representing Kogi East Senatorial District, Jibrin Isah Echocho, has congratulated Muslim faithful for the successful completion of this year Ramadan fast, urging them to celebrate the Sallah in love, and unity across our communities.
Echocho in a statement madeavailable to CAPITALPOST in Lokoja o Sunday, described the Ramadan period as stressful, but deserving, because it is the only period for spiritual reflection on abstinence from immorality, sincere sacrifice and supplications to Allah.
He added that, Ramadan symbolises Allah’s way of teaching humanity on virtuous living, where people keep away from all forms of comfort to appreciate what the less privileged experience and deprivation they suffers daily.
He task Muslims to extend the lessons of Ramadan to the way we live with our neighbours.
“Let’s seek peace at all times and promote unity of purpose in our society” the Lawmaker demanded.
“May the celebration brings sustainable peace to our homes, my district, Kogi State and Nigeria, he concluded.
The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio has commended Senator Basheer Lado, for redefining the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, stating that, for the first time in a long while, the office is fully meeting its expectations.
Speaking during his visit to the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters accompanied by distinguished senators, Akpabio described the visit as a significant step in strengthening Executive-Legislative relations.
He praised the Special Adviser and his team for maintaining the confidentiality of communications between the President and Senate, and also, ensuring a seamless flow of information. He further emphasized that the office is now more result-oriented.
Additionally, he acknowledged the office’s diligent efforts in tracking all Bills passed by the Senate and assented to by the President, underscoring its critical role in legislative efficiency.
Expressing his satisfaction, Akpabio noted that he and the Senate delegation were proud of the office’s achievements and looked forward to sustaining the existing cordial and productive relationship between the Executive and the Legislature throughout the administration.
In recognition of his exemplary leadership, Senator Lado presented an Award of Excellence to Senator Akpabio.
In his remarks, Senator Lado reaffirmed his commitment to fostering a harmonious working relationship between the Executive and the Legislature. He lauded Akpabio for his unwavering dedication to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda—defending it with clarity, articulating it with passion, and advancing it through legislative action.
Ahead of the 2025 political party Congresses, Plateau State Chapter of the Labour Party (LP) stakeholders has endorsed the defection of the candidate of the party in the 2023 general elections and the leader of Justice and Rebirth, Barr Gyang Zi SAN, to the All Progressive Congress (APC) with the view to key into the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
They made the call in a communique issued at the end of the enlarge meeting of the stakeholders from Plateau North senatorial zone at the residence of Barr. Gyang Zi in Rayfield Jos.
The communique which was jointly signed by Dr. Ayiki Sati Director General, Justice and Rebirth and
Barr. Samuel Galadima- 2024 Chairmanship candidate of Jos East LGA among others said the call became imperative on the sideline of the leadership tussle at the National Level which violates the core principles and values for the formation of the Party as an alternative for Nigeria for the protection, sustenance of democracy and Social Justice.
They regretted that the leadership tussle has also divided the party into factions leaving party loyalists and supporters in the state of despondency and confusion not knowing where they belong.
Our correspondent reports that the gathering included LP candidates from the 2023/2024 general elections, party executives, and support groups from the six local government areas of the Northern Senatorial District.
Besides, the focus of the discussions was centered on the state of the Labour Party at both national and state levels and the need for political realignment ahead of the 2025 party congresses and conventions.
The stakeholders further frowned at the structural weaknesses in LP and resolved to advise Barr Gyang Zi, to leave the party and join the APC while expressing confidence that the APC would provide him with a platform to advance good governance in the state .
The communique also emphasized the importance of political consultations, particularly with APC leaders at both state and national levels. It called for collaboration with Plateau State APC leaders, including Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, Sen. Simon Bako Lalong, Sen. Diket Plang, and other party officials.
According to the communique, supporters of Barr Gyang Zi also pledged to mobilize grassroots support for the APC, stating that their leader’s defection would strengthen the party in the state.
They urged the APC leadership to formally receive Gyang Zi and his supporters into the party, marking their official transition from the Labour Party.
Stakeholders also reiterated the need for inclusive governance, ensuring that youths, women, and less privileged individuals are sidelined in the democratic process and accordingly officially denounced their membership in the Labour Party, declaring their support for the APC.
They assured that all LP structures aligned with Gyang Zi would follow suit, shifting their loyalty to the ruling party in the state and at the National level.
-
Politics1 week agoOpposition leaders announce coalition to challenge Tinubu in 2027
-
Foreign1 week agoHouthis declare Ben-Gurion Airport ‘no longer safe’ after renewed Gaza fighting
-
News1 week agoWhy Christ Embassy’s Pastor Chris holds Abuja mega crusade – Fisho
-
News1 week agoUmeh denies receiving $10,000 with other 42 Senators to support state of emergency in Rivers
-
Crime1 week agoGhana’s anti-drug agency nabs Nigerian drug kingpin, Uchechukwu Chima, seizes $2.1m worth of cocaine, heroin
-
Politics1 week agoAtiku, El-rufai, Obi condemn Tinubu’s suspension of Rivers Governor, demand reversal
-
News24 hours agoKogi Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo salutes Tinubu at 74
-
Business1 week agoFlutterwave, FIRS collaborate to digitize tax collection in Nigeria