Cosmas Ekpunobi
25 November 2008
Lagos — The six months anxiety over the fate of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review (JCCR) was put to an end last Thursday following the formal inauguration of the 88 member panel.
There were claims that the long delay followed the disagreement between the speaker of the House of Representatives Dimeji Bankole and the senate president David Mark on the role of the lower House in the review exercise.
While Bankole was alleged to have vowed to on conduct a parallel review, Mark however insisted that such would be a breach parliamentary convention and tradition.
A source however alleged that Bankole reluctantly gave his nod at the last minute, to please some of his colleagues who salivating over the N1million vote already approved for exercise in the 2008 budget.
Emerging signals from the committee suggest that the trouble may not have ended and that the House may recall its members should the senate insist on having upper hand in the exercise.
However, the inauguration, marks the beginning of yet another long journey by the fourth senate to produce a possible people oriented constitution for the over 140 million Nigerians.
Though it is too early in the day to predict how far the senator Ike Ekweremadu led committee would go, but the cheering thing is that some of the key players in the exercise who served in the last failed attempt had openly confessed their sin.
Senate president David Mark who himself was a key proponent of the controversial tenure elongation that truncated the last attempt had urged the new panel to avoid similar mistake.
Mark in his inaugural remarks last Thursday recalled that 'last effort at constitution review failed because of the acrimony engendered principally by the proposal for tenure elongation, otherwise known as third term.
The work of the first review committee headed by late former Deputy senate president Senator Abubarkar Haruna (1999-2003) was inconclusive, as its tenure lapsed with the end of the fourth senate in June 2003.
The committee hardly settle for the real business before the tenure of that senate ended and as such not much was done by it.
Second attempt to review the 1999 constitution ended in a rather more controversial note that almost truncated the democracy.
Report of the committee headed then by former Deputy senate president Senate Ibrahim Mantu by the divine intervention of the God Almighty was defeated on the floor of the senate about this time in 2006.
The report of the Mantu led review committee was adjudged by many as satanic hit a brick wall following desperate bid by some key players in the exercise to elongate the tenure of former president Olusegun Obasanjo and his then governors.
Some proponents of tenure elongation are today licking their wound, while others are shamelessly parading themselves as democrats in the land.
Some of the third time including former governor of Edo state Senator Osunbor are today beneficiaries of the failed bid.
The inauguration of the 88member review committee last week may have rekindled the hopes of some Nigerians for a new constitution that address most of their anxiety and indeed the defects in the 1999 constitution.
Though some Nigerians are worried over the composition of the committee, but the senate president at the formal inauguration of the panel 'vowed that we would get it right this time around this time around.
For some Nigerians , the likes of Senators Teslim Folarin, Ekweremadu, and other proponents of the failed third term agenda, have no business serving in that committee.
Interestingly , chairman of the defunct 2007 movement, a caucus that opposed tenure elongation senator Uche Chukwumerije was last minute listed by the senate president to serve in the committee.
A princely N1million was approved for the exercise in the 2008 budget.
At the inauguration last week were the speaker himself, his deputy, Nafada, and other principal officers of both chambers
Eye witness said that Bankole who was initially opposed to a joint review hardly smile at the inauguration.
Interestingly the venue of the inauguration was shifted to House wing of the National Assembly complex apparently to please the speaker and his cronies.
Similar review committee was inaugurated at the symbolic senate hearing room one.
Speaking at the event Mark declared 'that today marks the beginning of yet another historic quest by our nation in its bold efforts to nurture and deepen its democracy.
The past history of our attempts at constitutional democracy has been a chequered one, marked by miss-steps, brutal interruptions ,and long periods of military authoritarian rule.
The 1999 constitution, as we all agree , is not a perfect document, it is neither the product of plebiscite, referendum, nor a national conference
It was bequeathed to us in 1999 by the departing military and promulgated into law by military fiat.
As we beam the searchlight on the 1999 constitution with a view to fine-tuning its provisions, we must bear in mind that a constitution, being the grundnorm, or the fundamental law , must define clearly , the term of social contract, and the scope and limit of governmental sovereign power.
Mark specifically asked the committee to priotize the issues for amendment.
According to him' a wholesale approach to the review of a constitution in a complex society like ours could be difficult and problematic.
'I therefore suggest that you prioritize the issues, determine ther most thorny and germane and tackle them in their order of urgency, taking the least controversial issues first.
But the senate in what looked like the agenda for the committee advised the panel give priority to issue of revenue allocation, federalism. Immunity clause, local government system, state creation, electoral system and separation of power.
Curiously neither the senate president or the speaker recognized the deputy senate president as the chairman of the committee.
The omission as grave as it was immediately set tongue wagging at the venue of the event.
But Ekweremadu who was visibly worried over the protocol lapse quickly summoned a meeting of the committee.
Though he presided over the brief meeting, there are still fears in some quarters that such omission may be pregnant with meanings.
But speaking at the event Bankole simply declared that his leadership would give the committee the necessary support to succeed, in the interest Nigeria.
Ekeremadu in a remark that suggest early trouble for the committee said that the panel would resist any attempt to truncate the exercise by those he said consider themselves the ultimate trustees of our collective wisdom.
We will not be distracted by the antics and grand standing of such people.
We will go to work immediately and we will deliver proposed articles of amendment in record time.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Daily Champion. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
