Abuja, NIGIERIA — Nigerian lawmakers in the House of Representatives, on Monday, proposed some amendments to the 1999 Constitution which are believed will improve governance in the country. One of the bills is to pass into law, a single term of six years for the office of the President and Governors and rotational presidency amongst the six geopolitical zones.
A group of about 30 members of the House of Representatives known as Reform Minded Lawmakers From Different Political Parties (G-30) made this known during a press conference, disclosing 50 Bills they jointly sponsored, which have passed first reading in the House of Representatives in Abuja on Monday.
The lawmakers are also advocating the conduct of Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship, State Houses of Assembly and Local Government as well as FCT Area Councils elections in one day.
Reading the text of the press conference, Co-sponsor of the Bills and member representing Ideato North/South Federal Constituency of Imo State, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, said they were proposing alterations to the 1999 constitution (as amended) to provide for the rotation of executive powers among the six geopolitical zones of the country to ensure equal representation and reduce the desperation and tempo of agitation for the creation of new states.
Ugochinyere said the Bills were seeking the amendment of the Constitution to create the office of two vice presidents from the southern and northern parts of Nigeria with the 1st vice being a succession Vice president, while the 2nd Vice president being a Minister in charge of the Economy, and both being Ministers.
He further said the Bills were seeking constitutional amendments to provide that the President and the 1st Vice President shall come from the same part of the country (North or South) and the 1st Vice President shall become President whenever the President becomes incapacitated.
“We, the reformers elected representatives of the people of Nigeria, are concentrated on proving that we are fully capable of managing our affairs together as a nation. Hence, as the first step in our commitment, we are presenting to the public Bills and proposals, which will are pushing on the floor floor of the 10th Assembly. These Bills will touch on every aspect of development in all sectors of our Economy and well-being as a nation.
“These Bills which are 50 in numbers have gone through first reading but today we are starting with public unveiling of about 6 of them while the remaining will come in the weeks ahead. It ranges from governance, economic, security, and justice sector reforms to social bills that will target unifying our nation and ensuring long-lasting peace and national cohesion.
“Therefore, the bills presented today will address that proposal on governance, we are proposing:Constitutional Alteration to provide for the rotation of executive powers among the six geopolitical zones to ensure equal representation and reduce the desperation and tempo of agitation for the creation of states.
“To amend section 3 of the Constitution to provide for the recognition of the division of Nigeria into six geopolitical zones. To amend the Constitution to provide for a single tenure of six years for the President and Governors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The reduction in government spending and wastage, efficiency in governance, and national stability by providing a single term of six years for the President and Governors.
“Amend the Constitution to create the office of two vice presidents from the southern and northern parts of Nigeria. The 1st vice shall be a succession Vice president, while the 2nd Vice president shall be a Minister in charge of the Economy, and both shall be Ministers.
“Constitutional Amendment to provide that the President and the 1st Vice President shall come from the same part of the country (north or south) and the 1st Vice President shall become President whenever the President becomes incapacitated, i.e., V.P. (Succession), V.P. (Administration and Economy)
“The financial autonomy and accountability of Local Government Councils by prescribing an independent Consolidated Local Government Council Account solely superintended by Local Councils and prescribing long-term imprisonment for any misuse of Local Government funds.
“To amend section 162(5) of the 1999 Constitution to provide that where a State Government fails to remit to the Local Government Councils within its jurisdiction (or within the State), the amounts standing to the credit of that Local Government in the allocation from the Federation account, such State Government shall not be entitled to receive a future allocation from the Federal Government.
“Elections remain our only democratic means of bringing back sanity in our polity, so we must get our selection processes right. We are proposing Bills to address capture and corruption in our electoral processes to include; Amending the relevant sections of the Electoral Act to ensure that all elections (presidential, governorship, National Assembly, state houses of Assembly, and local governments) are held on the same day.
“Amending the relevant sections of the Electoral Act to provide that no declaration of a winner of an election shall be done by the relevant INEC officials until such officer has compared the results with the list of accredited voters and ensured that the results to be declared are in tandem with the list of accredited voters and the B-VAS machine or any other electronic device.
“Amend the Electoral Act to provide that any INEC officer who declares a false result will be liable for civil and criminal action personally brought against him by parties in the elections. An Amendment to the Electoral Act to provide that all election-related litigations must be resolved and determined by the Elections Petitions Tribunal, Appeal Courts, etc., before the winners are sworn into the respective elective offices.
“An Amendment of the Electoral Act to make provision for the conduct and conclusion of all elections and election-related litigation within a period of six months before the swearing into office of the validly elected person for the office contested. An Amendment of the Electoral Act to provide that all election-related documents and materials must be made available to those who participated in elections and who have reasons to question/petition the elections at the Elections Tribunal.
“We want to conclude this press conference by greeting all Nigerians of all walks of life on this historic day: our men and women in the different sectors of the Economy, our vibrant young people, persons with disabilities, our law enforcement agencies, our traditional rulers, fathers of our communities and custodians of our cultural heritage, our religious leaders, custodians of faith and morals, our effective civil society organizations.
“This task ahead of us is huge and cannot be achieved without you. It is a task for all of us. Our work does not go beyond taking the initiative to get them into Parliament,” he added.
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