Politics
Constitution Amendment: NLC, Others Push As Nigerians Await State Assemblies
The much awaited constitution amendment is now with the State Houses of Assembly.
The Clerk of the National Assembly, Arch Amos Ojo, had on March 29, 2022 transmitted 44 Constitution Review Bills to the Clerks of the State Houses of Assembly for concurrence.
The bills require the approval of two-thirds of State Houses of Assembly or 24 out of the 36 State Assemblies to become laws.
There are far reaching decisions taken by the National Assembly on the bills which included the much talked- about financial autonomy for the state Houses of Assembly and the State Judiciaries.
Also, the much-needed local government autonomy is waiting for the approval of the state houses of assembly members.
During the last constitution amendment exercise, the state assemblies voted against their autonomy, denying financial autonomy for the states judicial branch and local governments autonomy.
However, the same bills have been repackaged by the National Assembly and forwarded to the state Houses of Assembly.
The faster they act on the bills, the better it would be as the bills will only survive with the present 9th National Assembly.
Calls for the State Houses of Assembly in the country to pass the 44 constitution amendment bills sent to them by the National Assembly have since intensified with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) saying that the LGs are not pot of soup for the Governors.
To this end, the unions are calling on the state houses of assembly to, as a matter of urgency, pass the bills so that the local governments can be freed from retrogressive acts.
The 1st National Vice President of NUT, Comrade Kayode Akosile, said most governors see the local government as their pot of soup, adding that his union supports autonomy for the local governments.
The NUT chieftain who said they were initially reluctant in joining hands with NULGE to push for LG autonomy, added that they realised there was no development at the third tier of government.
“There is no development at the local government that is why we are pushing for LG autonomy.
“Governors see local governments as their pot of soup. They want local government chairmen to be answerable to them. We will join hands with NULGE and NLC and others to ensure that LG autonomy is realised,” Akosile said.
The Chairman, FCT chapter of the NLC, Abubakar Hassan Yakub, said their stand on the Local Government autonomy, independence of the State Assemblies and the Judiciary has not changed.
“LG autonomy, independence of legislature and of the Judiciary is non negotiable. All stakeholders must work hard and ensure that the constitution amendment becomes a reality,” Yakub said, adding that the 9th National Assembly have done their part and the state assemblies must play their part too.
The NULGE President, Ambali Hakeem Olatunji, who said that all hands must be on deck to rescue Nigeria, added that local government autonomy should be of paramount importance in the constitution amendment.
He said the struggle to ensure good governance at the local government level must continue even after they are granted autonomy.
The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, says he would not help President Bola Tinubu’s administration to correct the administration’s policies affecting the citizens.
Emir Sanusi spoke on Wednesday in Lagos as the chairman of the 21st Anniversary of Fawehinmiism (Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture 2025).
The emir stated that while there were “a few points” he could offer to explain the trajectory the administration had taken and how such decisions were predictable, he chose not to do so because “they don’t behave like friends.”
He said explaining the government’s policies would help the government, but he did not intend to assist them due to the way they had treated him.
“I can give a few points that are contrary, that explain perhaps what we’re going through and how it was totally predictable, most of it, and maybe avoidable. But I am not going to do that.
“I have chosen not to speak about the economy or the reforms or to even explain anything because if I explain, it would help this government, but I don’t want to help this government,” the emir said while addressing some of the points made by speakers about the economy.
He added: “You know they’re my friends, but if they don’t behave like friends, I don’t behave like a friend. So I watch them being stooges. And they don’t even have people with credibility who can come and explain what they are doing. I am not going to help. I started out helping, but I am not going to help. I am not going to discuss it. Let them come and explain to Nigerians why the policies that are being pursued are being pursued.
“Meanwhile, I’m watching a very nice movie with popcorn in my hands. But I will say one thing: What we are going through today is, at least in part, not totally, but at least in part, a necessary consequence of decades of irresponsible economic management.
“People were told decades ago that if you continue along this path, this is where you’re going to end up, and they refused to open their eyes. Now, is everything being done today correct? No.”
Emir Sanusi, who was deposed as the 14th Emir of Kano in 2020 by then-Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the current national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was reinstated as the 16th Emir of Kano in 2024 by the New Nigeria People’s Party-led Kano State Government.
His emirship has faced ongoing challenges from forces believed to be backed by the federal government, including federal officials’ continued recognition of his predecessor, Emir Aminu Ado Bayero.
Last month, the police barricaded his palace, with the state government accusing the federal government of orchestrating the action to stir unrest in the peaceful state.
The Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Oriyomi Onanuga, is dead.
Also known as Ijaya, Rt Hon. Onanuga, who was the member representing Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency, is said to have died following a brief illness.
This was confirmed in a tweet on the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday night.
Rt Hon Onanuga, who was born in Hammersmith, London, to Nigerian parents on December 2, 1965, was a politician and entrepreneur. She held the position of Deputy Chief Whip in the Nigerian House of Representatives since 2023.
She contested and won a seat in the House of Representatives under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019. She also served as the Chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development.
Gov. Aiyedatiwa, however, exempted two members of the cabinet from the dissolution due to the critical nature of their duties.
The two commissioners exempted include the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kayode Ajulo, SAN, and the Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Omowunmi Isaac.
This was contained in a statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Mr Adeniyan said in the statement that “All the affected cabinet members are to hand over all government properties in their care to the accounting officers of their respective ministries.
Gov. Aiyedatiwa thanked the executive council members “for their service and contributions to the development of Ondo State under his administration and wished them well in their future endeavours”.