Constitutional Amendment: Odunowo Blasts Govs, Assemblies
The national chairman of the Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu Support Group, AATSG, Otunba Abayomi Odunowo has condemned the failure of some of the state governors in the country and their state legislatures for their failure to pass constitutional amendment bill sent to them to effect the necessary changes in our body polity.
Odunowo said this in Abeokuta while interacting with newsmen at the inauguration of Dapo Abiodun Campaign Council for the reelection of the state governor.
The national chairman, who was one time a gubernatorial aspirant of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, said by not ratifying the draft amendment bill, the affected governors and their legislatures are constituting threat to our democracy.
Odunowo said these governors, some of whom are seeking re-election should be rejected at the polls irrespective of their party affiliation.
Odunowo said the process is being stalled by the following state governors and state Assemblies. In the southwest, we have, Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti states assembliee. In the north central, the erring states are Niger, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau and Kwara. In the north west, we have Kano, Kebbi, sokoto, Zamfara and Kano.
Also, in the North east states, there are Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe states that are yet to pass the amendment. In the South East, we have, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. Finally, in the SouthSouth, we have Bayelsa, Rivers and Cross River as states that have refused to effect the amendment.
It will be recalled that in March, the Senate and House of Representatives voted on bills seeking to amend the 1999 constitution.
The red and green chambers agreed on some of the bills and differed on others, while a total of 44 bills were transmitted to the state houses of assembly.
According to sections 9(2) and (3) of the 1999 constitution, the input of two-thirds of all the state assemblies — 24 states — is required for each amendment to be approved.
In October, the National Assembly reported that, only 11 states had voted on the constitution amendment bills. The states are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Delta, Edo, Kaduna, Katsina, Kogi, Lagos, Ogun and Osun.
Odunowo wondered why so many of the states assemblies are stalling this very important aspect of our constitutional reform.
He said, “The success or failure of every significant governance initiative depends on the extent to which the objective is a shared priority of the different arms of government and, in some cases, of the state governments,”.
“Consider, for example, the vexing issue of constitutional reforms. Several of the commitments in the legislative agenda require amendments to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to achieve them.
“If you took a poll around the country now on the importance and need for substantive reforms to our nation’s constitution, I am sure the poll would return an overwhelming majority in favour. The National Assembly passed a draft of amendments to the constitution and advanced them to the states as required.
“That process now seems to have stalled in the state assemblies. As it is today, it is important that the current constitutional amendment effort must be concluded before the expiration of the 9th legislative term. And Nigerians must cal their erring governors and assemblies to order immediately.
“Despite broad national agreement on the need for reform, the potential for achievement can rise or fall based on differences in expectations of the context, pace, and direction of the specific proposals.
“The success of our democracy and the progress and prosperity of our country depends on each of us knowing and operating in the knowledge that Nigeria belongs to us all, and we each have a responsibility to build a nation and leave a legacy we can be proud of.
“This is our greatest test and our most defining task. And it can only be achieved by our joint efforts as citizens, brothers and sisters dedicated to a cause greater than ourselves.”
In the same vein, Odunowo, has called on all members of AATSG in all the states to request and speak to their respective governors and assembly members to ensure their state assemblies pass the constitution amendment bills saying, ” I think it is important that our state government and legislature deal with the amendment bill immediately. They should make history by ensuring that the amendment is passed in the interest of the nation, common good, and common sense
