President Muhammadu Buhari has signed 16 constitutional amendment bills into law, amongst the bills are financial independence of state legislatures and judiciary and the removal of railway, prison, and electricity from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list.
This was disclosed in a statement on Friday by Idris Wase, deputy speaker of the house of representatives, while commending Buhari, saying the laws grant more powers to the states.
- Have you read these;
- International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin
- Unilever Nigeria makes changes to its business model
A total of 44 constitutional amendment bills were transmitted to the State Houses of Assemblies by the National Assembly, but only 35 were approved by 24 states.
In January, TheCable reported that 35 constitutional amendment bills were passed and transmitted to Buhari for assent.
Below are the bills signed into law.
1. Fifth Alteration (No.1), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to change the names of Afikpo North and Afikpo South Local Government Areas; and for related matters.
2. Fifth Alteration (No.2), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to change the name of Kunchi Local Government Area; and for related matters.
3. Fifth Alteration (No.3), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to change the names of Egbado North and Egbado South Local Government Areas; and for related matters.
4. Fifth Alteration (No.4), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to correct the name of Atigbo Local Government Area; and for related matters.
5. Fifth Alteration (No.5), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to correct the name of Obia/Akpor Local Government Area; and for related matters.
6. Fifth Alteration (No.6), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to provide for the financial independence of State Houses of Assembly and State Judiciary; and for related matters.
7. Fifth Alteration (No.8), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to regulate the first session and inauguration of members-elect of the National and State Houses of Assembly; and for related matters.
8. Fifth Alteration (No.9), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to delete the reference to the provisions of the Criminal Code, Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Act, Criminal Procedure Code or Evidence Act; and for related matters.
9. Fifth Alteration (No.10), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to exclude the period of intervening events in the computation of time for determining pre-election petitions, election petitions and appeals; and for related matters.
10. Fifth Alteration (No.12), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to provide for the post-call qualification of the Secretary of the National Judicial Council; and for related matters.
11. Fifth Alteration (No.15), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to delete the item “prisons” in the Exclusive Legislative List and redesignate it as “Correctional Services” in the Concurrent Legislative List; and for related matters.
12. Fifth Alteration (No.16), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to move the item “railways” from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List; and for related matters.
13. Fifth Alteration (No.17), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to allow States to generate, transmit and distribute electricity in areas covered by the national grid; and for related matters.
14. In Fifth Alteration (No.23), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to require the President and Governors to submit the names of persons nominated as Ministers or Commissioners within sixty days of taking the oath of office for confirmation by the Senate or State House of Assembly; and for related matters.
15. In Fifth Alteration (No.32), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to correct the error in the definition of the boundary of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; and for related matters.
16. In Fifth Alteration (No.34), the Bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to require the Government to direct its policy towards ensuring the right to food and food security in Nigeria; and for related matters.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
