Constitution review: We won’t kill any bill, says Omo-Agege

The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has assured that the Adhoc Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution would not kill any of the constitution alteration bills before it.

Omo-Agege, who chairs the committee, pledged that the panel would recommend all the bills before it for consideration while the Senate in plenary would determine whether or not such proposals should be transmitted to state assemblies.

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The lawmaker also assured that members of the committee would not succumb to pressure from external forces to do their biddings.

Senator Omo-Agege spoke at the weekend on The Platform, a current affairs programme on TVC, according to a statement by his spokesman, Yomi Odunuga.

He stressed the need for Nigerians to take advantage of the window given by the committee for Call for Memoranda to submit their proposals on any of the 13 thematic areas to the panel.

The lawmaker disclosed that besides the constitution alterations bills already referred to the panel, more proposals could surface on the floor, arising from memoranda submitted to the committee.

“This committee will try not to kill any bill. We will rather have all bills go to the floor at plenary and let the Nigerian people, speaking through their elected representatives, make the call as to whether or not those bills should pass.

“Thereafter, we will go to the various Houses of Assembly to see if those votes can also muster two-thirds majority of the 36 assemblies. From there, we receive and transmit the successful bills to Mr President for assent,” the statement qouted Omo-Agege as saying.

Members of the committee, he emphasised, will not succumb to pressure from external forces.

He noted that all the 36 governors are unanimous that more powers be moved from the Exclusive to Concurrent Legislative List.

“I don’t know of any governor in this country today who doesn’t subscribe to the idea that the content of the Exclusive Legislative List is not too cumbersome and there needs to be some shedding of weight. I am sure practically all governors will subscribe to that so we can have some of these powers devolve to the states,” he stated.