MINORITY LEADER, HON. FEMI GBAJABIAMILA
…Seeks to include police, security agencies on first line charge
BEVERLY HILLS, CA, December 04, (THEWILL) – The House of Representatives Wednesday passed a bill that would compel every president to present annually a scorecard through a state of the nation address.
The bill titled ‘A Bill for an Act to Alter the Provision of Section 67 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and for Other Matters Connected Therewith’ is sponsored by the Minority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
In his lead debate on the proposed amendment, Gbajabiamila stated that what is presently operating in the country is a representative democracy, explaining that ” what this system of government entails is that the people must be carried along by their representatives in that capacity.”
He therefore argued that the non- adoption in Nigerian system of democracy a constitutional provision compelling the President to present a state of the nation address has deprived the citizens of opportunity to be carried along by government.
According to him, ” it has become very imperative in all democracies of the world as a practice to adopt the state of the nation address by the President of the country so as to carry the people along in governance.”
He said the President shall attend a joint sitting of the apex parliament in the country to explain certain issues of governance, especially security of lives and properties as it affects citizens of the country on annual basis.
He submitted that Section 67 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria provided that the President may attend the joint sitting of the National Assembly, saying the provision does not necessarily compel the President to do so, rather at will, while urging his colleagues to pass the proposed amendment so as to compel the President to do so.
Supporting the bill, Hon Parry Iriase (APC, Edo) stated that Section 5 of the cited constitution grants the President of the country unfettered executive powers, noting that this does not augur well for the country’s democracy as the nation looks up to the American model of democracy in Nigeria.
House Deputy Leader, Hon Leo Ogor, however kicked against the bill, saying the House must be mindful of existing laws so as not to allow it run foul of existing laws.
He noted the provision of Section 148 of the 1999 Constitution which provides that the President can delegate his executive powers to the Vice- President or ministers of government as a provision to shield the chief executive from embarrassment.
Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal who presided at the session referred the bill to the special ad-hoc Committee on Review of 1999 Constitution for further inputs.
Similarly, the House also passed for second reading ‘A Bill for an Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to include the National Security Agencies and the Nigerian Police in the first line charge of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation and for Other Matters Connected Therewith’.
Leading the debate on the proposed amendment, House Minority Whip Hon. Samson Osagie (APC Edo), said the nature of security challenges facing the country is such that warrants inclusion of the security challenges in the first line charge of the federation.
He submitted that the present security challenge bedeviling the nation, especially insurgency in northern states of the federation shows that it needs more than fiscal combat to confront the security challenges.
By Saint Mugaga, Abuja
