ZAMFARA, Kebbi, Taraba, Kwara, Oyo, Plateau, Gombe, Jigawa, Sokoto States’ Houses of Assembly were hesitant as twenty-seven other State assemblies forwarded their resolutions on 35 constitution amendment bills to the National Assembly, News Point Nigeria gathered.
The Senate has consequently directed the Clerk of the National Assembly to transmit the 35 constitution amendment bills that have so far met the requirement of the provision of section 9(2) of the constitution to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.
The upper chamber also asked the remaining nine state Houses of Assembly that are yet to forward their resolutions on the constitution amendment bills to do so to fulfil their constitutionally imposed legislative obligation.
The state Houses of Assembly yet to forward their resolutions to the National Assembly are: Gombe, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Zamfara states.
The resolution to transmit the 35 bills followed the deliberation on a motion sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo- Agege, and 66 other senators.
Ekiti senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who presented the report, said the 27 states that have forwarded their resolutions on the bills are; Abia, Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross-River, Delta, Ebonyi and Edo States.
Others are; Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Rivers and Yobe States.
The 35 bills, he said, have satisfied the provisions of Section 9(2) of the Constitution, for passage into law, having been approved by not less than 24 SHAs.
The National Assembly passed the 44 Constitutional Amendment bills in March 2022 and by October of the same year, Mr Omo-Agege, who chairs the Constitution Review committee, complained that only 11 SHAs considered and voted on the bills.
He said 25 other states had threatened to take no action on the bills unless four more constitution amendment bills are considered and passed by the National Assembly.
Below is the full list of the bills considered by the 27 states.
1. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No 3 (Change of Names of Afikpo North and Afikpo South LocalGovernment Areas (Ebonyi State); ‘
2. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No 4 (Change of Name of Kunchi Local Government Area (Kano State);
3. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No 5 (Change of Names of Egbado North and Egbado South Local Government Areas (Ogun State);
4. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No 7 (Correction of the name of Atigbo Local Government Area (Oyo State); . i.
5. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No 8 (Correction of Name of Obia/Akpor Local Government Area (Rivers State);
6. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No 9 (Financial autonomy of State legislatures and State Judiciary);
7. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 10 (Enforcement of Legislative Summon);
8. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 11 (Inauguration of Members-Elect);
9. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 21 (Deletion of reference in the Constitution to the provisions of the Criminal Code, Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Act, Criminal Procedure Code or Evidence Act);
10. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 22 (Provision for Intervening Events in the Computation of Tine for the Determination of Pre-Election Petitions, Election Petitions and Appeals therefrom); ‘
11. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 24 (Expansion of the Interpretation of Judicial Office);
12, Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 25 (Appointment of Secretary of the National Judicial Council);
13. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 29 (Devolution of Powers (Airports));
14. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 30 (Devolution of Powers (Fingerprints, identification and criminal records).
15. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 31 (Devolution of Powers (Correctional Services).
16. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 32 (Devolution of Powers (Railways).
17. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 33 (Devolution of Powers (National Grid System);
18. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 39 (Power to enforce compliance of remittance of Accruals into the Federation Account and Review of Revenue Allocation Formula);
19. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 40 (Independence of Certain bodies);
20. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 41 (Removal of Transitional Law-making Powers of the Executive.
21. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 43 (Domestication of Treaties);
22 . Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 44 (Timeline for the Presentation of Appropriation Bills);
23. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 45 (Timeframe for the Submission of the Names of Ministerial or Commissioner Nominees);
24. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 48 (Power to summon the President and Governors);
25. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 49 (Authorization of Expenditure);
26. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 50 (Replacement of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation with the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government);
27. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 51 (Creation of the Office of Accountant-General of the Federal Government);
28. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 53 (Separation of the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and of the State from the office of the Minister or Commissioner for Justice);
29. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 54 (State of the Nation and State of the State Address);
30. Bill No. 55 (Composition of Members of the Council of State);
31. Bill No. 57 (Restriction on Formation of Political Parties);
32. Bill No. 62 (Correction in the Definition of the Boundary of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja);
33. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 63 (Fundamental Human Rights);
34. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 65 (Food Security);
35. Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bill No. 66 (Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps).