..SAYS COMMITTEE WON’T KILL ANY BILL BEFORE IT
AMINA HUSSAINI
The Chairman of the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution, Ovie Omo-Agege, has declared that members of the committee are not under external forces’ pressure to do their biddings.
Omo-Agege, who is the Deputy President of the Senate, also assured that the panel would not kill any of the constitution alteration bills before it.
He made this known while appearing on a TVC programme, The Platform, anchored by Sam Omatseye.
He promised that the Senate would recommend all the bills before it for consideration and that the upper chamber’s plenary would determine whether or not such proposals should be transmitted to state assemblies.
He stressed the need for Nigerians to take advantage of the window given by the committee for call for memoranda to submit their proposals on any of the 13 thematic areas to the panel.
The Constitution Review Committee had last week extended the deadline for submission of memoranda from September 11 to September 25, 2020.
The Delta Central lawmaker disclosed that besides the constitution alterations bills already referred to the panel, more proposals could surface on the floor, arising from memoranda submitted to the committee.
Omo-Agege said: “Any Nigerian who feels strongly about any issue that ought to be addressed in this exercise, has a right within the time stipulated to put their thoughts in writing by way of a memo and submit same to us.
“Upon receipt of that, we will meet as a committee, set up some sub-committees within the main committee that will go to each of the geopolitical zones. There they will reach out and ask people to step forward and speak to the memo that they have already submitted to us.
“Thereafter, we will come back, hold a retreat where we will aggregate the views of the content of the memoranda. And in some cases come up with more bills.
“This committee will try not to kill any bill. We will rather have all bills go to the floor at plenary and let the Nigerian people, speaking through their elected representatives, make the call as to whether or not those bills should pass. Thereafter, we will go to the various Houses of Assembly to see if those votes can also muster two-thirds majority of the 36 assemblies. From there, we receive and transmit the successful bills to Mr President for assent.”
He stated that the zonal public hearings would be conducted in line with Covid-19 protocols.
Members of the committee, he emphasised, will not succumb to pressure from external forces.
The lawmaker added that as Nigerians of great accomplishments in their respective fields, members of the panel and indeed all senators would continue to live above board in the discharge of their constitutional duties.
“I can tell you that as of this moment, we have not received any such pressure or influence peddling. But let me tell you this: the Nigerian Senate is a chamber made up of statesmen. These are people of accomplishments in their previous endeavours before they came to this place. I don’t think these are people who are going to be susceptible to pressures from external forces. These are people who are here to do the right thing.
“And if you must also know, the Steering Committee of this Constitution Review Committee is populated by the entire leadership of the Senate. I am just the Chairman before you talk about the 56 other senators. We have taken an oath to protect the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I can assure you that members of this committee and indeed all of the senators of this Ninth Senate will do the right thing. We are not going to succumb to any pressure,” he said.
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