The Joint Adhoc Committees of the National Assembly have called for more collaboration and synergy with the State Houses of Assembly for effective and efficient constitutional review for Nigeria.
Deputy Speaker House of Representatives, Ahmad Idris Wase, made the remark in an interactive session with the Conference of Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly in Abuja for engagement and consultation on the ongoing constitution amendment in the country.
The main thematic issues in the present constitutional amendment exercise, the sixth in two decades, include local government administration autonomy, the legislature and judiciary reforms, devolution of power, women, and vulnerable groups.
Others are strengthening of institutions, good governance, political parties and electoral matters, national security, traditional institutions, and fundamental human rights among others.
Idris Wase, who commended members of the committee for their sacrifice, said the review was to make governance more efficient and transparent for the benefit of all.
“Cognisant of the fact that we cannot work in isolation, if we must achieve concrete results and deliver on the promises we have made to Nigerians.
“Whatever we have done, we still go through the State Houses of Assembly for their own input and votes”, he said.
The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, said the proposed amendments focused on the need for institutional and legal reforms that would strengthen the government’s institutions for efficiency.
Omo-Agege, while emphasising the need for thoroughness on the part of the States legislature, said the document will be sent to the State Assemblies in the next two weeks.
“The over acing rationale to the amendment contained in these bills are those predicated on the need to among others strengthen the legislator’s authority to enable it to serve as an effective pillar of Checks and balances to the executive, strengthen independent constitutional bodies, create and strengthen the culture of good governance, address the issue of corruption, revenue leakages and ambiguous government spending”, he stressed.
Chairman Conference of Speakers of State Houses of Assembly, Abubakar Sulaiman in a remark described the amendments as critical to solving the numerous challenges facing the country.
Sulaiman, who is the Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly advised that the Executive Arm of government at all levels should be engaged to secure Presidential assent, when the alteration process was concluded.
“We are particular about the executive arm at both tiers of government due to the previous experience in reluctance or selective consideration for Presidential assent by the Presidency and Challenges of implementation at the State level”, he added.
Twenty-six out of sixty-two Bills proposed for the amendment, were recommended for harmonisation and are expected to transmit the agreed position to State Houses of Assembly in no distant time.
