Abdul-Rahman Abubakar
25 December 2008
interview
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu is the Chairman of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review (JCCR). In this interview with Senate reporters, he sheds light on issues surrounding the proposed constitution amendment exercise and other legislative matters.
Nothing seems to be happening since the inauguration of the constitution review committee, how far have you gone in the process?
I have refrained from speaking to the press because we wanted to ensure that all the outstanding matters are concluded namely the confirmation of ministers and the passage of the 2009 budget. Now that we have put this one behind us, it is time to be focused. I read some articles where some people are saying that after two weeks of our inauguration, we have not done anything. Well like I said we have in the Senate very pressing matters namely 2009 budget because we want the budget to be ready ahead of 2009 so that implementation can start in earnest and of course, we want the ministers to be confirmed so that they can start work. Despite that, we have been able to start the ground work that we enable them to start work. You can see the publications in the papers today; you see our secretariat asking for technical people, coordinators and the manpower requirement of the review. We want to conclude the arrangement for the retreat for members in early in January in Niger state. There we will be able to draw a time table, a timeline and put everything shapes ahead of the review. So, we are working even though we are working quietly that is why you have not heard from us. We want to be sure that this time we get the process correctly.
Previous attempts at reviewing the constitution failed, don't you think this exercise will also come to nothing?
The difference between this one and that of the past is that this one will succeed. I mean it because I am determined to make sure it succeeds. A couple of my colleagues who are in the committee are also determined to make it succeed. We are showing a lot of commitment and enthusiasm to ensure that this particular assembly delivers to Nigeria the necessary changes in the constitution of the country. My background as a lawyer and my interest in constitutional law puts me in a vantage position to ensure that we deliver a quality amendment to our people; this is what will engage us next year.
Can you list some of the sections that you hope to alter in the constitution?
We have been set up by the National Assembly to serve the entire country. It is not for us to sit down here and say we will do this one, we will do that one or we won't do that one. No, we will allow the process to evolve; we will allow Nigerians to decide. We will look at the past efforts and then be able to bring out what we think is germane when Nigerians are yearning for a review. When we have done that, we won't have a wholesale review of all the issues, we are going to prioritise them and then take them in a basket. In the first instance, we are going to deal with very few issues and then conclude it in record time and then we go into the next stage. So, we can't deal with all. This particular committee will not do anything of sort. We are going to gather all the issues and then prioritise them. When we finish what we consider as first amendment, we then publish the constitution and present to the people of Nigerians. Thereafter we can now take another one. Where our attempt stops, and our attempt ends, another set of people, the next assembly or whatever will now take it from there. It is a continuous process. No country concludes the amendments of its constitution in one go. What is important to us now may not be important to the next generation.
But there are areas that have been identified as requiring urgent amendment in the constitution?
What is very critical to us now is the issue of electoral process. We need to ensure that we get it right ahead of the 2011 general elections. If everything goes well, we will be able to conclude the issue of electoral reform. Don't forget that the electoral reform committee set up by Mr. President has concluded its work and submitted its report. That report cannot make any meaning unless there are constitutional reviews because the bulk of the provisions dealing with elections are contained in the constitution. When you are for instance talking about an independent candidate, you can't create independent candidate by an Act of the National Assembly because the constitution says that before you contest for election, you must be a member of a political party. For that to happen, it means you have to amend that aspect of the constitution. Because that is critical and we have a timeline because it has to be concluded ahead 2011 election, it is going to be a priority to us.
With just few days to the end of the year, will the JCCR be able to spend its budget or has the money been returned as unspent fund?
The budget we passed, the deadline for the life of that budget is 31st of December, and so, anybody who returns money before that 31st is breaching the law. The money will be returned after 31st. I am not aware that any money has been returned. But for anybody to have returned money before that 31st, he must be breaching the law of this country.
First of all under our constitution before the budget of the year is passed, you can spend money based on the appropriation of the previous year up to the June of the following year. I expect the secretariat of this committee to conclude arrangement ahead of January because we can't wait till 15th to start paying for the hotel. I expect them to have paid for the hotel, to have done all the logistic arrangements before the end of this month. They don't need to wait until the end of January and then say there is no money.
You said Nigerians will have to decide the sections in the constitution that would be amended, are there no go areas?
In general terms, anything that will affect this country adversely, we won't touch it. But I can tell you specifically, if you are looking for third term or tenure elongation, it will not happen. We will be governed by what Nigerians want.
What is your view on the immunity clause?
I thank Mr. President for starting the debate in earnest; he started the debate earlier than all of you. He started making his own contribution that shows the interest of everybody including Mr. President to the job which we are about to do. We will be guided by what Nigerians want, if they want us to look at the issue of immunity clause so be it. If you want my own view and it has nothing to do with the outcome. In Countries where you have the immunity clause, the principle is that nobody is above the law. So the constitution cannot deliberately protect some people. If it does it will be breaching the principle that nobody is above the law. In such countries where you have this clause there is always a safety valve. In all instances, that is why we have the principle of impeachment for offence which the governor may be arrested or whatever. On the other hand the assembly of that state or the National Assembly in the case of the Federal can now remove such a governor or President by process of impeachment, and when that happens, you pick him up the next day. In Presidential system, they provide this cover so that you can be allowed to do your work. Yet you are not allowed to do anything you want. What we need to do is to strengthen the state Assemblies to be able to appropriately remove a governor so that he can now go and face the full wrath of the law. But if Nigerians want immunity to go completely so be it.
Why did the Senate reject the virement request from the finance ministry?
We have had the problem of communication, the Honorable Minister of Finance wrote the Senate and we are not use to a minister writing us. We asked them to take it back and ask the President to write us. I am not aware of the practice in the House of Representatives, but Senate doesn't accept letters from the ministers. A minister can write a committee of the Senate but certainly not to the Senate or the Senate President. There are channels of communication in the Senate. They started delaying and after they failed to get the President to write, the minister wrote another letter to the Senate committee on Appropriation.
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