Constitution Amendment: Senate, Reps Panel At Crossroads

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  Africcon Report: Constitution Amendment: Senate, Reps Panel At Crossroads
  Africcon New Media – News
  
  From: Africcon Media – Nigeria
  
  Cover by Africcon Media – Constitution Amendment: Senate, Reps Panel At Crossroads
  
  The Senate, House of Representatives seem to be at a cross road over the issue of tenure of elected executives in the report of the constitution review committee of both chambers. Adesuwa Tsan captures the reception of the proposal by members of the House.
  
  If there is a matter that the 7th Assembly have in common, it is the collective will of the two chambers to speak with one voice. This is visible in solidarity moves in the case of the call for the dismissal of the director general of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Ms Arunmah Oteh and chairman of the Task Force on Pension Reform, Mr Abdulrasheed Maina.
  
  Reaching a compromise on resolutions and bills in an amicable and timely manner is also characteristic of both Houses as witnessed in the benchmark agreement and other decisions reached on the 2013 budget that was passed by the National Assembly. However, the true test of this alliance seems to be in wait except tenure elongation or something like it.
  
  If initial postulation is to be taken into consideration, then there are indications that the Senate and the House of Representatives may be heading for a row following the proposal of a 6 year tenure for political office holders which the House of Representatives has rejected.
  
  The six years single tenure proposal by the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution, headed by deputy senate president, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has been greeted with widespread rejection by Nigerians even as the House of Representatives has vowed to uphold the wishes of Nigerians who voted against tenure elongation in the Peoples Public Session last year. it will be recalled that the House of Representatives committee on the Review of the Constitution, under the leadership of the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Emeka Ihedioha, had reported that Nigerians rejected by vote, any changes to the status of duration and terms of political office holders.
  
  However, only last week, the Senate committee’s report on zonal hearings on the constitution review, which is yet to be debated by senators in plenary, threw up a proposal for a six year single tenure for public office holders in elective positions such as governors and presidents. Here lies the knot, since both committees say they relied on opinion gathered from Nigerians.
  
  According to the result of the People’s Public Sessions held by members of the House of Representatives in all the 360 federal constituencies, Nigerians voted massively against a change from the present arrangement of four years, two tenures. The result of these sessions were publicly presented and analysed by all stakeholders, including civil society groups.
  
  So keen were the lawmakers to defend the votes of their constituents in order not to incur their wrath in the polls that they insisted that the first slated presentation of the voting result could not hold until they have confirmed that they reflect the true position of the people. More so, when allegations of moves to provide for tenure elongation and other twists were flying in the air. To this end, all members cross checked the results to confirm that it tallies with their own before the presentation was held.
  
  Commenting on the outcome of the zonal sessions which the Senate committee relied on for the proposal,  spokesman of the House, Hon Zakari Mohammed (PDP, Kwara), said Nigerians have spoken and the House of Representatives will rise up to defend their wishes by passing the recommendation in the report of the constitution when the lawmakers resume from their recess later this month.
  
  “As you know, Nigerians, in our public sessions held in all constituencies, voted against amendment of tenure and voted to maintain four years, two tenures. We, as representatives, cannot then go against their wishes, more so when the result of the hearings were publicly displayed for all to see the voting pattern”, he said, adding, “We are maintaining the status-quo. Nigerians have spoken and we are going with their position. When we resume, we are going to consider it and at the end of the day, we will go for the conference to reconcile our differences”.
  
  Also expressing the view of the House on the issue, Hon Salisu Ado Daura (CPC, Katsina) said he will not support a six year tenure proposal in line with transparency and response to the wishes of their constituents.
  
  Daura also noted that the idea of a single drawn out tenure will not help development of democracy since the clamour for a second chance gives political leaders the drive to deliver dividends of democracy to the citizens.
  
  “The view that we got from our own public sessions is that the four years should be maintained. I am not sure if this proposal is that of the senate itself or it is the outcome of its zonal public hearings.”
  
  “my personal view is that the four year term should be maintained because the problem is that if you have a bad leader and his tenure continues to drag to six years, it is too much. If he is good, he can always come for a second term and we will vote for him, rather than limit his performance to six years only”.
  
  The recess of the lawmakers will come to an end next week and as the public anticipates the outcome of the debates in both chambers, especially for an explanation on how the opinion of the same group of people could produce two conflicting results and where the middle ground will be for the two chambers when they meet in the reconciliation committee. But all these depend on if the proposal gets the nod when the senators consider the report in session.