Confab: Crisis looms as northern delegates plans to frustrate Amendment of 1999 Constitutionon August 12, 2014 at 12:54 am in News Facebook Share Twitter Share By Henry Umoru ABUJA- AS delegates at the on- going National Conference resumed plenary yesterday to debate on the final report of the Conference as produced by the Secretariat after one month of recess, strong indications have emerged that crisis looms as some northern delegates may have concluded plans to frustrate moves to amend some sections of the 1999 Constitution. Preparatory to carry out some alterations in the Constitution as contained in the report as recommended during Committee sitting and proposed amendments to be made on the proposed constitution as approved by delegates, the Conference Secretariat has prepared a draft Constitution to be sent to the National Assembly. Yesterday the Conference Secretatiat distributed the draft copy and a bill to give the Amendment teeth to all the delegates, just as some northern delegates were not comfortable with the draft with plans to ensure that it did not sail through. The body language of the north to jettison the idea came up yesterday when a northern delegate from Jigawa State and representing the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Mallam Sani Zoro raised the issue that a new constitution was being prepared by the Secretariat and described the document as a strange one. Zoro who queried the inclusion of the draft constitution, which he termed “strange document, was however economical with words and said, “Thank you for giving us the draft constitution. We didn’t expect it, but we welcome it and will go through it”. The Justice Idris Kutigi led 2014 National Conference plans to forward a Bill to both the Senate and the House of Representatives to alter some sections of the 1999 Constitution aimed at correcting what it termed some anomalies in the said constitution and make it more people oriented. Kutigi in the Bill titled, an Act to further alter the Provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999( with the first, second and third Alterations, and for Related Matters 2014 will go the National Assembly as an Executive Bill. Vanguard gathered that crises were already brewing at the Conference as delegates were poised to fight with the leadership of the Conference for tagging it a draft Constitution rather than tag it proposal for the alteration of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria against the backdrop that the conference has no such mandate to write a constitution, but to advise the President on areas that could be changed in the constitution. When Vanguard contacted a lawyer and a delegate, Festus Okoye to speak on the document, he noted that the problem was not with the content of the document, but with the National Conference Procedure Rules 2014, stressed that the title was wrong, adding that rather than write ” Draft Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2014, it would have been, “Proposal for the Alteration of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, saying that the rules recognise that. Speaking further, Okoye who said that there were some delegates and persons who never wanted the Conference to succeed from the beginning, stressed that what the leadership of the Conference had done was to play into the hands of such persons as it was not within the mandate of delegates to draft a constitution, adding that at the end of the day, it would amount to rubbishing names and integrity of delegates. Citing Order 13, Rule 3 of Conference Procedure Rules 2014, Festus Okoye who is at the Conference on the platform of Civil Society Organisations, said that the section reads thus, “Should the final report lead to the drafting of issues of law and policy, the Conference shall in consultation with the six Principal Officers of the Conference advise the government on the legal framework, legal Procedures and options for integrating the decisions and outcomes of the National Conference into the Constitution and laws of the country. ” Also speaking with Vanguard, Sani Zoro who noted that the draft Constitution if allowed was capable of ridiculing the entire assignment at the Conference, it would amount to waste of time, energy and Government resources, just as he said that as delegates, it was not within their mandate to carry out such an assignment against the backdrop that it was not a constituent Assembly, adding that conflict looms between the delegates and the National Assembly.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 05:17:48 +0000
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