Politics
LG Autonomy: NANS Commends NASS For Passing Bill
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has commended the National Assembly for granting full financial and administrative autonomy to the third tier of government by amending section 124 of the nation’s constitution.
NANS in a statement signed by the Clerk of the Senate, NANS National, Abdul Yekinn Odunayo, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Wednesday, described the action of the National Assembly as a bold step towards freeing the LGAs from the shackles of some state governors.
Mr Odunayo, who equally commended President Bola Tinubu for dragging the state governors to the Supreme Court over the LG autonomy, noted that the Constitution amendment effected by the National Assembly on Tuesday, will give a boost to the efforts of Mr President in granting both financial and political autonomy to the third tier of government, which according to him is the closest to the people.
He observed further that by deleting the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) from the constitution, thereby vesting the powers to conduct council elections on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), adding that it will strengthen democracy at the grassroots and prevent the governors from imposing their stooges as local government Chairmen.
NANS expressed optimism that with the Constitution amendment, local governments will begin to function maximally and be able to perform their constitutional roles of engendering and delivering good governance to the people at the grassroots.
“We, at the NANS, commend the National Assembly for amending the Constitution and granting full autonomy to the LGAs in the country. With this, the 774 LGAs across the country will heave a sigh of relief and be free from the grasp of the state governors.
“It is our belief that the local government, as the third tier of the government and closest to the people, should have the desired freedom to discharge its duties according to the dictates of the Constitution.
“The deleting of SIECs from the Constitution is another laudable step taken by the NASS, and vesting the conduct of LG elections on INEC will go a long way in preventing some governors from imposing their stooges as LG chairmen of the people.
“The NASS, by its action, has indeed given impetus to the efforts of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure total autonomy to the LGS, which are mostly being run by Caretaker Committees set up by the governors. With this development, allocations due to each LG will go directly to it, while the issue of arbitrary dissolution of LG administrations will be put to rest.
“Also, abrogating SIECs will enhance and strengthen democracy at the grassroots, as people will have the choice to elect their preferred candidates for LG positions, without undue interference or influence from the governors”.
“It is our hope as a student body, that the case instituted at the Supreme Court by the Federal Government against the state governments over LG autonomy will favour the FG, thereby, giving a pristine breath of life to the LGs and safeguarding their allocations from being tampered with.
“We, therefore, express our absolute confidence in the President Tinubu-led administration in its quest to take the country out of the current economic and socio-political quagmire. NANS will continue to give the necessary support to the administration to ensure it makes the desired impact on the nation”, Odunayo stated in the statement.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed, through a second reading, a bill seeking to retain immunity for the Office of the President and remove immunity from the Vice President, the Governors and the Deputy Governors.
The bill was one of the 42 considered and passed through the second reading stage during plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Benjamin Kalu, in Abuja.
Sponsored by Hon. Solomon Bob (Rivers PDP), the bill is seeking the amendment of Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution to guard against abuse of office and to ensure transparency in governance.
The long title of the proposed legislation read: “A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to qualify the immunity conferred on the President, remove the immunity conferred on the Vice President, the Governors and their deputies, in order to curb corruption, eradicate impunity and enhance accountability in public office and for related matters.”
Key amendments include changes to Section 308 of the Constitution, which currently grants immunity to the president, vice president, governors, and deputy governors while in office.
The proposed bill will amend subsection 3 to ensure that immunity only applies to the President and the vice president when acting as President under Section 145 of the Constitution.
Additionally, a new subsection 4 will be introduced to make the immunity clause inapplicable if the office holder is acting in an unofficial capacity, engaging in actions beyond the powers of the office, or involved in criminal conduct.
“The bill seeks to foster transparency and strengthen the fight against corruption by making public officials more accountable for their actions, both in and out of office.”
“Section 308 of the principal Act is amended by:(a) substituting a new subsection (3) as follows: “(3) This section applies to a person holding the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Vice President only when acting as President, in line with Section 145 of this Constitution.
Creating sub section (4) thereto as follows:”(4) The foregoing provisions of this section shall be inapplicable where the person to whom this section applies is acting in an unofficial capacity or where the conduct of the person is beyond the powers of his office or the conduct is criminal in nature.
“This Bill may be cited as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) Act 2024.
The bill is currently awaiting further debate and consideration by the National Assembly.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has written to notify Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central, about the petition by constituents seeking her recall from the national assembly.
INEC said it has also received the contact details of the petitioners.
“Pursuant to section 69 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, I write to notify you of the receipt of a petition from representatives of registered voters in your constituency seeking your recall from the senate.
“The notification is in line with the provisions of clause 2 (a) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024.
“This letter is also copied to the presiding officer of the senate and simultaneously published on the commission’s website. Thank you”, the letter read.
The letter was signed by Ruth Oriaran Anthony, secretary to the commission.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Wednesday, INEC said it has now received the updated contact details from representatives of petitioners seeking to recall the senator.
In the statement, Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education, said a letter notifying the senator of the petition has been delivered to her official address, copied to the senate presiding officer, and published on the commission’s website.
“The next step is to scrutinise the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners to ascertain that the petition is signed by more than one half (over 50%) of the registered voters in the constituency. This will be done in the coming days.
“The outcome, which will be made public, shall determine the next step to be taken by the Commission. We once again reassure Nigerians that the process will be open and transparent”, Mr Olumekun said.
Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan had recently accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexually harassing her.
The allegation came in the wake of seating arrangement related altercation between Senator. Akpabio and the Kogi Central senator at the red chamber
She was subsequently suspended from the senate for six months for “gross misconduct” over the incident.
The constituents behind the recall move also accused her of “gross misconduct, abuse of office, and deceitful behaviour”.
The senator has denied wrongdoing and called the recall effort a “coordinated suppression” of her voice.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the second reading of a bill to upgrade the Lagos State 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) to full-fledged Local Government Areas (LGAs ).
The bill, was sponsored by James Faleke, Babajimi Benson, Enitan Badru, and 19 other lawmakers.
The bill is titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to Accommodate the Thirty-Seven (37) Development Area Councils of Lagos State as Full-Fledged Local Government Areas, Increasing the Total Number of Local Government Areas in the Federation to Eight Hundred and Eleven (811), and for Related Matters (HB. 1498),”
Once fully enacted, Nigeria’s total number of LGAs will rise from 774 to 811, with Lagos overtaking Kano and Katsina, which currently have 44 and 34 LGAs, respectively.
Proponents of the bill argue that granting full LGA status to the LCDAs would bring governance closer to the people. The 37 LCDAs were created by President Bola Tinubu in 2003 when he was governor of Lagos State.
However, it’s worth noting that the Lagos State House of Assembly has been working on a bill to replace the 37 LCDAs with newly designated administrative areas.