- The National Assembly recently transmitted the constitution alteration bill document to Rivers state Assembly for its input
- The state Assembly approved nine of 15 items in the constitution alteration bill, including immunity for legislators
- The lawmakers, however, voted against the constitutional alteration seeking to grant autonomy to local governments
The Rivers state House of Assembly on Monday, March 5, rejected local governments’ financial autonomy and power for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct by-elections and de-register political parties.
The Nation reports that the lawmakers approved nine of 15 items in the constitution alteration bill of the 1999 amended constitution.
NAIJ.com gathered that the National Assembly recently transmitted the document to the Assembly for its input.
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Out of the 28 members present, 27 people voted against the alteration seeking to permit councils to operate separate accounts.
The lawmaker representing Port Harcourt 1, Victoria Nyeche, voted in favour of the bill.
Nyechie said granting financial freedom to councils would strengthen and deepen democracy.
She said: “The local government autonomy is very critical because by its independence, they can be more accountable, power should revolve from the centre to the grassroot. I also voted in favour of INEC independence and power because as an electoral umpire, it should be able to hire and fire, as well as deregister political parties.”
Explaining the rejection, the House Committee chairman on information and communication Sam Ogeh said lawmakers did not consider it an item of urgency.
He said: “We are in a county that is moving on on daily basis and as events unfold, we will try to improve and better some things.”
The House also rejected the alteration seeking to provide for independent candidates, among others.
It approved the alteration outlining the process for an amendment if the President withholds his assent.
The lawmakers approved the alteration, which provides for reduction of age for qualification to contest as president, governor, National and State Assembly seats.
The House also voted to approve an alteration, which permits immunity for legislators during sitting and to strengthen the legislative process.
Also approved was another alteration specifying the period within which the president or governor must present an appropriation bill to the legislature for consideration.
The state legislators also voted to approve alteration number 4, which confers financial autonomy on State Assemblies and alteration number 2, which reduces the period that the president or governor can spend money before the passage of the next budget from six months to three months.
Speaker Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, who presided over the voting of the 15 alterations of the Constitution (Fourth Alteration) Bill 2017, urged the National Assembly to revisit the issue of devolution of power.
He stated that too much power was concentrated at the federal level, making the country to drift to a unitary system.
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Ibani directed the clerk of the Rivers State House of Assembly to immediately transmit the resolution of the House to the National Assembly for necessary action.
NAIJ.com previously reported that the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) debunked allegations that the issue of local government autonomy had been rejected by various state Houses of Assembly.
The president of the association, Ibrahim Khaleel, stated that 26 Houses of Assembly were still considering the bill.
He said it had already been considered by the remaining 10 which had passed it to the chairman of the conference of speakers of states houses of assembly, who would then pass it onto the National Assembly.
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Source: Naija.ng