•Grants legislators immunity
•Reps fault NBC Act, set to repeal it
The Senate on Tuesday at plenary unanimously approved the report of the Conference Committee on the Fourth Alteration of the 1999 Constitution Amendment Bill 2014.
In passing the Conference Committee report, the Senate approved the provision of the Bill in Section 65, which provides for independent candidates in election in the country so that interested politicians could contest elections on zero party basis.
The Upper Chamber also adopted the provision of the report in Section 7, granting autonomy to the local governments in the country by providing for their funding, tenure, elections, and to clearly delineate their powers and responsibilities to ensure effective service delivery and insulate them from undue interference from state governments.
The Senate also approved the recommendation of the Committee in Section 9 of the Bill, which removed the power of the President to assent to any bill in respect of Constitution alteration.
According to Section 9 of the Bill as contained in the report, the essence of the removal of the power of the President to assent to an alteration bill was to enhance the sovereignty of the citizens through their elected representatives.
The Senate further approved Section 4 of the Amendment Bill, which places immunity on legislators at all levels of governance in respect of words spoken or written in the exercise of their legislative duties in their respective chambers.
Section 45 of the Bill, which enshrines the right to education and the right to health, as fundamental human rights in the Constitution, was also approved by the Upper legislative Chamber.
The National Assembly also moved to whittle the powers of the President through Sections 58 and 100, which lawmakers claimed were designed to resolve the impasse where the President or governor of a state neglects to signify his assent or withholds such assent.
According to the Conference Report, removing such powers from the President or governor would strengthen legislatures’ authority and enable timely passage of laws for good governance.
Similar to the above is Section 59 of the Constitution Alteration Bill, which authorises the President of the Senate to convene a joint meeting of the National Assembly to reconsider a money bill where the President withholds his assent.
Section 67 of the Bill makes it mandatory for the President to attend a joint meeting of the National Assembly once a year to deliver a state of the nation address.
