{"id":2514,"date":"2022-02-24T15:21:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T15:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/?p=2514"},"modified":"2022-02-24T16:06:15","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T16:06:15","slug":"nass-proposes-68-alterations-to-the-constitution-sets-voting-dates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/nass-proposes-68-alterations-to-the-constitution-sets-voting-dates\/","title":{"rendered":"NASS Proposes 68 Alterations to the Constitution, Sets Voting Dates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Senate and the House of Representatives have set down Wednesday, 2nd<\/sup> March and Thursday, 3rd<\/sup> March, respectively to vote on proposals to amend the Nigerian Constitution. Deputy President of the Senate and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, 23rd<\/sup> February separately presented before their respective chambers, proposals jointly agreed by both of their Ad-hoc Committees on Constitution Review. The joint Constitution amendment recommendations of the Senate and House Committees had been agreed on at a retreat organised by both chambers and held on 4th<\/sup> and 5th<\/sup> February 2022. The retreat was supported by Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) and the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The recommendations come from several consultative processes conducted by the Constitution Review Committees of both houses over several months, most of which consultations, PLAC and the UK FCDO had supported. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the conclusion of votes by the National Assembly,\nbills that receive approval will be sent to the States for votes. The\nConstitution requires that each alteration passed by National Assembly must\nreceive support of simple majority of votes in at least two-thirds of State\nHouses of Assembly in the Federation. Amendments that pass the threshold of\nState votes will then qualify to be sent to the President for assent, after\nwhich it becomes law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Constitution alteration bills to be voted on\ninclude Bills to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Abrogate\nthe State Joint Local Government Account and Provide for a Special Account into\nwhich shall be paid all Allocations due to Local Government Councils from the\nFederation Account and from the Government of the State;<\/li>
  2. Establish\nLocal Government as a Tier of Government and Guarantee their Democratic\nExistence, Tenure;<\/li>
  3. Change\nthe Name Afikpo North and Afikpo South Local Government Areas;<\/li>
  4. Change\nthe name of Kunchi Local Government Area;<\/li>
  5. Change\nthe Names of Egbado North and Egbado South Local Government Areas;<\/li>
  6. Change\nthe Name Barikin Ladi Local Government Area;<\/li>
  7. Correct\nname Atigbo Local government Area; <\/li>
  8. Correct\nthe Name of Obia\/Akpor Local Government Area.<\/li>
  9. Provide\nfor the Financial Independence of State Houses of Assembly and State\nJudiciary; <\/li>
  10. Compel\npersons to obey or comply with Legislative Summons; <\/li>
  11. Regulate\nthe First Session and Inauguration of Members-Elect of the National and State\nHouses of Assembly;<\/li>
  12. Institutionalize\nLegislative Bureaucracy in the Constitution;<\/li>
  13. Provide\nfor the Procedure for passing a Constitution Alteration Bill where the\nPresident withhold Assent;<\/li>
  14. Provide\nthe Procedure for Overriding Executive Veto in Respect of Money Bill;<\/li>
  15. Provide\nfor the Procedure of Removing Presiding Officers of the Legislature; <\/li>
  16. Provide\nPension for Presiding Officers of the National Assembly;  <\/li>
  17. Establish\nthe Federal Revenue Court and the Revenue Court of a State; <\/li>
  18. Further\nStrengthen the Judiciary for Timely Dispensation of Justice; <\/li>
  19. Provide\nthe timelines within which Civil and Criminal Cases are heard and determined at\nTrial and Appellate Courts in Order to Eliminate unnecessary delay in Justice\nAdministration and Delivery; <\/li>
  20. Ensure\nUniformity in the Retirement Age and pension Rights of Judicial Officers of\nSuperior Courts of Records; <\/li>
  21. Delete the Reference to the Provisions of\nthe Criminal Code, Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Act, Criminal Procedure Code\nor Evidence Act.<\/li>
  22. Exclude the Period of Intervening Events in\nthe Computation of Time for Determining Pre-election Petitions, Election\nPetitions and Appeals therefrom.<\/li>
  23. Allow Court or Tribunal Proceedings to be\nConducted remotely, Virtually, Online or through any Media Platform or\nTechnological Innovation; <\/li>
  24. Expand the Interpretation of Judicial Office\nto include Courts or Tribunals created by an Act of the National Assembly or a\nState House of Assembly; <\/li>
  25. Provide for the Post Call Qualification of\nthe Secretary of the National Judicial Council; <\/li>
  26. Permit Public Servants to Engage in\nHealthcare Education, Production and Services beyond Farming; <\/li>
  27. Impose the requirement of fair Hearing in\nthe process of Recommendation of Removal of Judicial Officers by the State\nJudicial Service Commission; <\/li>
  28. Include Judges of the National Industrial\nCourt in the Composition of Election Tribunal; <\/li>
  29. Move Airports from Exclusive Legislative\nList to the Concurrent Legislative List; <\/li>
  30. move Fingerprints, Identification and\nCriminal Records from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent\nLegislative List; <\/li>
  31. Delete prisons in the Exclusive Legislative\nList and Redesignate it as Correctional Services in the Concurrent Legislative\nList; <\/li>
  32. Move Railway from the Exclusive Legislative\nList to Concurrent Legislative List; <\/li>
  33. Allow States Generate, Transmit and\nDistribute Electricity in Area covered by the National Grid; <\/li>
  34. Include Value Added Tax on the Exclusive\nLegislative List; <\/li>
  35. Provide for Special Seat for Women in the\nNational and State Houses of Assembly; <\/li>
  36. Expand the Scope of Citizenship by\nRegistration; <\/li>
  37. Provide for Affirmative Action for Women in\nPolitical Party Administration;<\/li>
  38.  provide Criteria for Qualification to\nbecome an Indigene of a State in Nigeria; <\/li>
  39. Empower the Revenue Mobilization Allocation\nand Fiscal Commission to Enforce Compliance with Remittance of Accruals into\nand Disbursement of Revenue from the Federation Account and Streamline the\nProcedure for Reviewing the Revenue Allocation Formula; <\/li>
  40. Enhance the Independence of Certain Bodies; <\/li>
  41.  Remove Transitional Lawmaking Powers\nfrom the Executive Arms of Government; <\/li>
  42. Expand Immunity to the Legislative and\nJudicial Arms of Government; <\/li>
  43. Specify the Time within which the Executive\nshall present to the National Assembly any Treaty between the Federation and\nany other Country for Enactment; <\/li>
  44. Specify the period within which the\nPresident or the Governor of State shall present the Appropriation Bill before\nthe National Assembly or House of Assembly; <\/li>
  45. Require the President or Governors to submit\nthe Names of Persons Nominated as Ministers or Commissioners within thirty days\nof taking the Oath of Office for Confirmation by the Senate or State House of\nAssembly; <\/li>
  46. Include Presiding Officers of the National\nAssembly in the Membership of the National Security Council; <\/li>
  47. Establish State Security Council;<\/li>
  48. Empower the National Assembly and State\nHouses of Assembly Powers to summon the President of the Federal Republic of\nNigeria and Governors of States to answer Questions on issues on which the\nNational and State Houses of Assembly have the Power to make Law; <\/li>
  49. reduce the Period within which the President\nor the Governor of a State may authorize the withdrawal of Monies from the\nConsolidated Revenue Fund in the absence of an Appropriations Act from six\nmonths to three months; <\/li>
  50. Replace the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the\nFederation with the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government;<\/li>
  51. Establish the Office of the Accountant\n\u2013General of the Federal Government separate from the Office of the Accountant\n\u2013General of the Federation; <\/li>
  52. Specify the Timeframe for the Conduct of\nPopulation Census; <\/li>
  53. Establish the Office of the Attorney\u2013General\nof the Federation and of the State separate from the Office of the Minister of\nJustice or Commissioners for Justice of the state in order to make the Offices\nAttorneys\u2013General Independent and Insulated from Partisanship; <\/li>
  54. Provide for a State of the Nation and State\nof the State Address by the President and Governor; <\/li>
  55. Include Former Heads of the National\nAssembly in the Council of State; <\/li>
  56. Provide for the Termination of Tenure of\nCertain Elected Officials on Account of a Change of Political Party; <\/li>
  57. Enhance existing Provisions on the Formation\nof Political Parties;<\/li>
  58. Provide for Independent Candidacy in\nPresidential, Governorship, National Assembly, State Houses of Assembly and\nLocal Government Councils Elections; <\/li>
  59. Provide for Diaspora Voting 60;<\/li>
  60. Provide for the Office of the Mayor for the\nFederal Capital Territory Administration Abuja; <\/li>
  61.  Provide for Appointment of a Minister from the\nFCT; <\/li>
  62. Correct the Error in the definition of the\nBoundary of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; <\/li>
  63. Make Free, Compulsory and Basic Education a\nFundamental Right of all Citizens under Chapter IV of the Constitution;<\/li>
  64. Further define Acts that Constitute Torture,\nInhuman or Degrading Treatment; <\/li>
  65. Require the Government to Direct its Policy\ntowards ensuring Rights to Food and Food Security in Nigeria; <\/li>
  66. Reflect the Establishment and Core Functions\nof the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps;<\/li>
  67. Establish the National and State Councils of\nTraditional Rulers to advise the President and Governors on Matters Related to\nCustoms, Security and Public Order; <\/li>
  68. Provide Reserved Quota for Women.<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Senate and the House of Representatives have set down Wednesday, 2nd March and Thursday, 3rd March, respectively to vote on proposals to amend the Nigerian Constitution. Deputy President of the Senate and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, 23rd February separately presented before their respective chambers, proposals jointly agreed by both […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2514"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2522,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514\/revisions\/2522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}