Nigeria N’Assembly to revisit devolution of powers to unbundle FG

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The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has briefed the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, on the ongoing constitution amendment exercise.


Ekweremadu, who met with the Forum at the Presidential Villa Wednesday night, explained that, of the 33 bills on the proposed amendments, 21 were passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, while 12 failed.

He, however, explained that efforts were on to build consensus around some of the failed bills, especially the bill on devolution of powers, with a view to revisiting it to unbundle and make the Federal Government more efficient.

On the concerns that it would be an aberration of federalism for State Houses of Assembly and the Local Governments to draw revenues directly from the Federation Account, Ekweremadu explained that amendments towards financial autonomy for both only seeks to alter Section 162 of the Constitution to abrogate the State Joint Local Government Accounts and create the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the State from which all allocations due to the Local Government Councils and the State Assemblies shall be directly paid from the Federation Account.

He said the proposed amendments would guarantee the democratic existence, funding, and tenure of local government councils.

He said that financial autonomy for Local Governments would not return primary education to the era of unpaid salaries. He explained that although education remained the constitutional responsibilities of the Local Governments, provisions have been made to deduct from the source the monthly financial obligations of the Local Governments to primary education for remission into the account of state agencies overseeing basic education.

The lawmaker further maintained that altering Section 134 and 179of the Constitution would avail the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, sufficient time for INEC to conduct bye-elections; and section 225 to empower it to de-register political parties was not total.

“INEC’s power to deregister parties will apply strictly to non-fulfillment of certain conditions such as breach of registration requirements and failure to secure/win either a Presidential, Governorship, Local Government chairmanship or a seat in the National or State Assembly or a Councillorship seat.
“Bill No. 10, seeks to alter sections 58, 59 and 100 only seeks to resolve the usual situation where the President or Governor neglects to signify his/her assent to or veto of a bill from the legislature.