Abuja — FEDERAL lawmakers yesterday dumped the bill seeking to amend Section 144 of the 1999 Constitution which would have empowered the National Assembly to pass a resolution determining if a sitting President or Vice-President is incapable of discharging his functions. This power is currently vested in the Federal Executive Council.

Almost the same fate on Wednesday befell the public hearing organised to amend some sections of the 1999 Constitution. The hearing was later postponed due to absence of the major stakeholders like governors, civil society organisations and others.

Section 144 which has generated heated controversy reads in part: "(1) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office if (a) by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all the members of the executive council of the Federation it is declared that the President or Vice-President is incapable of discharging the functions of his office, and

(b) the declaration is verified, after such medical examinations may be necessary, by a medical panel established under subsection (4) of this section in its report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Leading robust debate on the bill, leader of the Action Congress (AC) and who is also Minority Whip, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, explained that the motive was to transfer the powers conferred on the Executive Council of the Federation in section 144 to the National Assembly, within 21 days of absence of the president or his deputy.

Gbajabiamila further explained the need to constitute a medical panel that would determine the state of the president or his vice-president's health, as the case may be.

However, the debate on the bill threw the House into a momentary rowdy session as members expressed concerns over the aim of vesting all powers in the National Assembly when the principle of separation of powers is in practice in Nigeria .

In his argument, Gbajabiamila expressed worry that the powers to declare the president incapable of discharging his duties as contained in section 144 of the constitution appears to be "virtually impracticable, and had in the last few weeks thrown up a series of discourse."

He noted that in order to avert future occurrence of any controversy, the section should be amended to transfer such powers to the National Assembly who are not under any obligation to the president and so would not be biased in its decisions.

He said members of FEC are appointees and loyalists of the president and could not kick-start such a process, a situation which would be addressed by the amendment that the National Assembly shall after 21 days of absence constitute a panel of medical experts to examine either the president or vice-president, and thereafter declare him fit, or otherwise.

Contributing to the general principles of the bill, Hon Olaka Nwogu observed that the current problem in the country was not because of the constitution, but caused by a lack of political will to act. He said even if such powers were to reside in the National Assembly as being proposed in the bill, it would not make any difference, unless there was the will to carry out the action.

However, Hon. Emmanuel Jime supported the motion based on the notion that there was nothing wrong with inserting a time frame. Other members agreed that there was need to alter the section, as according to them, there was high level of sycophancy in the country that would not allow members of the Executive Council to declare such information.

Members who spoke on the bill were Samson Positive, Suleiman Kawu, Mohammed Ali Ndume, Ubale Kiru, Yakubu Barde, Sada Soli Jibia, Cyril Maduabum, Leo Ogor, Halims Agoda, Aliyu Ahmed Wadada, Okey Udeh and Independence Ogunewe, among others.

Meanwhile, the report of the six-man delegation raised by Green Chamber to visit President Umar Yar'Adua who is currently receiving medical treatment in Saudi Arabia will relay its report on Tuesday next week.

The six-member team that was delegated to convey the goodwill message of the House to President Yar'Adua returned last weekend and was reported to have returned without accomplishing their mission.

Minority Leader of the House, Hon Mohammed Ali Ndume, had yesterday, relying on the relevant standing orders of the House, raised alarm that in spite of the promise by the Deputy Leader Baba Shehu Agaie who led the team to Saudi Arabia that the report would be presented at yesterday's plenary. It was yet to be listed in the order paper of the day.

Agaie however defended the delay in presenting the report, saying that only three members of the team had so far signed the report as one of them had to stay behind due to his daughter's illness in Dubai, while another member, Hon. Patrick Ikhariale, was in Spain.

Bankole then ruled that the report should be laid before the House. "Six members were given the assignment, five completed it. Three have signed, the two other, I believe, would come back over the weekend, so the report would be laid before us on Tuesday next week.

Meanwhile, the Senate yesterday kick-started the debate for a wholesale amendment of Section 145 of the constitution with the view to strengthening the section and making compliance mandatory.

The proposed amendment suggested seven days within which the Vice-President (Section 145) should step in as Acting President in the event of the President travelling out of the country on vacation or on medical grounds. The same applies to Governors and Deputy Governors (Section 190).

In his contribution, Senator Nuhu Aliu (Niger North) described the events of the past three weeks as enough lesson for the National Assembly to wake up to the urgent need for the amendment. He however suggested a 21-day time limit instead of seven.

But Senator Bassey Ewa Henshaw (Cross River South) stated that the President should be made to inform the leadership of the National Assembly whenever he intends to travel outside the country on official engagements or any other reasons besides vacation or ill health. He canvassed a 14-day time frame, instead of seven.

Deputy Majority Leader, Victor Ndoma Egba (Cross River Central), pointed out that the existing Section 145 made wrong assumptions that the President or Governor would be in the position to transmit a letter before making an emergency trip outside the country.

"For instance, what if the President or Governor is unconscious and the need arises for him to be taken outside the country. Section 145 did not envisage that possibility," Ndoma Egba stated. He was also of the view that the President should officially inform the National Assembly whenever he intended to travel outside the country on official engagements.

If Senator Effiong Bob (Akwa Ibom North-East) should have his way, Section 144 will be expunged from the constitution. He said the trend in appointments into the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has shown a mater-servant relationship.

Apparently drawing his inference from the attitude of the current members of the FEC, Bob reasoned that no appointee under the circumstance will be willing to declare his benefactor incapacitated even when the facts are obvious.

"The truth is that I have not seen any minister of commissioner appointed by the President or a Governor passing a resolution to say that his benefactor is incapacitated. I have not seen any appointee resigning his appointment even when he holds a contrary opinion to that of the person that appointed him"

Sen. Julius Ucha (Ebonyi Central) agreed with him by describing the Section as meaningless and senseless, stressing that it is only meant to protect incumbent executive.

Sen. Uche Chukwumerije (Abia North) wanted a specific period of time in which the President or the Governor could stay outside the country, suggesting that after a certain number of days, action should be taken in that respect.

"We saw a situation in this country where a President (apparently referring to former President Olusegun Obasanjo) was virtually living in the air, travelling outside the country without informing the National Assembly"

"There must be a time limit beyond which the President or a Governor cannot remain outside the country. If he exceeds the time limit, the Acting President or the Acting Governor should be made to assume full responsibility and machinery should be put in motion for the emergence of a new deputy"

With the benefit of hindsight, Kanti Bello (Katsina North) contended that the inaction of past National Assemblies had caused the nation serious political problems. He urged his colleagues to be pro active whenever issues of constitutionality rare their heads.

He said it was the failure of the National Assembly that caused the derailment of the nation's democratic experiment under former military President, Ibrahim Babangida, leading to the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, won by the late Chief Moshood Abiola.

Bello, who was a member of the then parliament stated: "If the National Assembly had responded on time by passing a resolution declaring Abiola as president, that resolution would have stayed and it would have been impossible for anyone to annul the election and impose an interim government on us"

But Sen. Kabiru Gaya (Kano South) was of the opinion that since the President and the Vice President, Governor and Deputy Governor have a joint ticket, there should not be any ceremony before a deputy steps into the position of the senior partner whenever the need arises.

Sen. Umar Gada (Sokoto East) and Sen. Bode Olajumoke (Ondo North) brought peculiar twists to the argument when they touched on unsavoury developments in the nation's contemporary politics.

While Gada would like the proposed amendment to accommodate the issue of some state governors who have formed the habit of relocating to Abuja for weeks at frequent intervals and only return to their various states whenever it pleases them.

Olajumoke on the other hand, would like the amendment to address the problem of kidnapping. He asked what happens to the application of the Section if the President or Governor is kidnapped and held captive for weeks.

Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu (Enugu West) who led the debate stated that the committee on the review of the constitution, which he chairs, met to consider met to consider the amendment and came up with the bill.

This, he said was in response to a resolution by the Senate on January 27, 2010 mandating the committee to propose amendments to Sections 145 and 190 of the constitution with the view to resolving the flaws exposed by the present circumstances in the body polity.

The debate continues on Tuesday.