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The deputy Senate
president, Ike Ekweremadu, who is also the head of the Senate committee
on constitution review, has affirmed that the president need not sign
the amended constitution before it becomes binding and effective.

“I’m surprised that such an argument is coming up,” he told reporters in an interview in Abuja, earlier in the week.

He argued that the
constitution will automatically become effective once the required
two-third of the state Houses of Assembly assent to it.

“I don’t know who
is engineering that because section 9 says an Act of the National
Assembly for the alteration of constitution will be conducted in a
manner provided by that section 9. Don’t forget we copied from the
American constitution. Once the American Congress passes the
Constitution Amendment and it is sent to the state, just like in our
own, and you have the requisite number, it becomes automatically
operative. No American president has ever signed a constitutional
amendment. “

Last bus stop

He further argued
that for the constitution to make provision for two-third of the
members of the National Assembly and two-third of the state Houses of
Assembly to ratify it means that that alone is the “last bus stop.” The
deputy Senate president has always argued that since Nigeria’s
constitution is modelled after that of the United States of America, it
will not require the assent of the president to alter it.

“Amendment of the
constitution, according to section 9, does not require presidential
assent,” he said in a Senate workshop in Kaduna, October last year.

He had argued
against the opinion of Tayo Oyetibo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who
lectured the Senate on steps to successfully amend the Constitution in
that workshop.

Mr. Oyetibo had
said that unlike the American Constitution, which states clearly that a
law is valid with the assent of a certain majority of their National
and State Houses of Assembly, the Nigerian Constitution is ambiguous
about it, and that that leaves the president with the power to validate
any law.

Mr. Oyetibo then
advised the senators to rephrase section 9 of the 1999 Constitution to
reflect the validity of a law, with just the assent of a certain
majority of the National and State Houses of Assembly.

The deputy Senate
president also confirmed that the National Assembly is yet to transmit
the harmonised copy of the draft amended Constitution to the State
Assembly.

“We are meeting
with the Houses of Assembly on the 15th of this month to formally hand
over the harmonised version to them,” Mr. Ekweramdu said.

“We appeal to them
to deal with it in a matter of a week or two. We intend to extend
invitation to the governors, or at least find an opportunity of meeting
with them to also seek their support at this last lap of this exercise.
So, we are not expecting any problem.”

He further defended
the Senate’s position on some key issues in the amended constitution
that pitched the lawmakers against the public. Such issues like
allowing people indicted for corruption and embezzlement by
administrative panels to run for public offices, and cross carpeting
for elected lawmakers.

“The constitution
has made sufficient provisions on things that could disqualify you. If
you have been found guilty by a court for offences regarding
disqualification, you will not contest election. But it went further in
section 66(i) and said that if you are indicted by an administrative
panel of inquiry and that indictment is accepted by the Federal
Executive Council and State Executive Council, you are disqualified.
But we said no, that those other copious provisions, regarding areas of
disqualification on criminal ground, they are enough.

“Those who will be
disqualified are those who are found guilty by a court of competent
jurisdiction, and that is what is in our constitution. A lot of people
seem to misunderstand it clearly. In America, where we copied our own
constitution, people move from party A to B and they don’t lose their
seats. It is only the Parliament that it says if you cross carpet
without a genuine reason, you will lose your seat.

“But in the Executive, there is no such thing. Why isolate the
Parliament? And meanwhile, we have a provision in the constitution for
freedom of association. How do you reconcile it? And for you to amend
that section to say you cannot cross carpet, then you have to go and
amend the constitution regarding the freedom of association and that
requires a higher threshold,” Mr. Ekweramdu added