Part 3: The Vetoed Constitution Amendment Bill; 7th Assembly & GEJ

The Constitution amendment Bill generated lots of news from different media outlets, but what the media failed to do was to lay emphasis on the content of the amendment Bill. The media was simply all about the politics involved, dilly dally between the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary. At EOTM, our aim is to allow every Nigerian both home and in diaspora have access to information, documents and unbiased Bill analysis briefs of the Legislature. This episode features the bone of contention between the Executive and the National Assembly that lead to the death of the Constitution amendment Bill.

Proposed Amendments to Judicial Reforms

Section 150: Minister of Justice

The amendment to this section separates the office of the Minister of Justice from that of the Attorney General of the Federation. The Minister of Justice shall only be concerned with the administrative and legal matters of the government. The aim is to separate the political and prosecutorial roles of the Attorney General as currently exists in the Constitution.

Section 155: Tenure of office of members

The amendment to this section provides a renewable tenure for members of the National Judicial Council. The current Constitutional provision provides for life tenure

Section 174: Public Prosecutions

Following the amendment in section 150 to separate the office of the Minister for Justice from that of the Attorney General of the Federation, this amendment creates an independent office for the Attorney General who is expected to be a professional lawyer with good  knowledge of the criminal justice system. The aim of this amendment is to provide the office of the Attorney General with independent authority to carry out his/her duties without undue interference. The amendment in section 174 establishes the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and prescribes his qualifications while the insertions of new sections 174 A-H stipulates the process of appointment, independence, role, and tenure as well as provide for records of account and audit that must be kept and filed by the Attorney General.

Section 195: Commissioner for Justice

Similar to the amendment in section 150, the alteration to section 195 establishes the office of a Commissioner for Justice of the Government of a State and separates it from the office of the Attorney General of the State.

Section 211: Public Prosecutions

Following the amendment in section 195 separating the office of the Commissioner of Justice from that of the Attorney General of the State, this amendment creates an independent office for the Attorney General who is expected to be a professional lawyer with good knowledge of criminal justice system. New sections 211 A-1 defines the mode of appointment, qualifications, role, tenure and removal of office.

Section 233: Appellate Jurisdiction

This is modified to provide for appeals to the Supreme Court with leave where the ground of appeal against a civil or criminal decision involves a question of law alone. It further makes provisions for the disposal of applications for leave to appeal in the Supreme Court in chambers.

Section 241: Appeals as of the right from the Federal High Court or a High Court

The amendment here aims to prevent any court from staying a procedure due to an interlocutory appeal so that justice is quickly dispensed

Section 251: Jurisdiction of the Federal High Court

The amendment to section 251 confers exclusive jurisdiction on the Federal High Court for the trial of electoral offences.

Proposed Amendments to Fiscal Provisions

Section 82: Authorization of expenditure in default of Appropriations

This amendment reduces the period within which the President may authorize the withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund in the absence of an Appropriation Act from 6 months to 3 months

Note: The corresponding provision for the State is stated in section 122

Section 84 A-F

there are new provisions that define and distinguish the office of the Accountant General of the Federation from a newly created office of the Accountant General of the Federal Government, and provides for their role, process of appointment, tenure and removal from office. Under this provision, the Accountant General of the Federation shall be charged with the administration and disbursement of the allocations of the Federal account to the tiers of Government while the Accountant General for the Federal Government shall be responsible foe supervising and administering the accounts of the Federal Government.

Credits to Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre(PLAC) and UK aid

Recall of Legislators

The primary role of the Legislature is to make laws, laws that reflect and protect the interest of the public. Legislators are elected to represent the views of their respective constituency in this law making process. Therefore, it is expected that legislators engage citizens/constituents, to effectively discharge their duties. In some cases Legislators tend to put party and personal agendas over the public interest.
What happens when legislators are failing in their primary duties? What can the citizenry do, when they lose confidence? Well, the good news is, the Constitution already envisaged that. The constituents hired  representatives with their votes, therefore the constituents also reserves the right and powers to fire them with votes, if  their representatives are performing below expectations or drifting away from their job description.
To recall a member of the National Assembly is the Constitutional right of the electorate. The constituents gives their mandate to a legislator, and any form of misuse or non-usage of the mandate, makes him/her liable for a recall. A quick look at what the Constitution says about recall of members; 

Section 110 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended says 

A member of the House of Assembly may be recalled as such a member if -  

(a) there is presented to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission a petition in that behalf signed by more than one half of the persons registered to vote in that member's constituency alleging their loss of confidence in that member; and  

(b) the petition is thereafter, in a referendum conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission within ninety days of the date of receipt of the petition, approved by a simple majority of the votes of the persons registered to vote in that member's constituency.

The basis for recall according to the provisions of the Constitution is loss of confidence, and loss of confidence in its interpretation has an extensive meaning.The 8th Assembly will be inaugurated tomorrow, it is imperative that the public engage their representatives and hold them accountable at every step of the way.