Checks by Daily Sun at the weekend, showed that a constitutional face-off between the Presidency and the National Assembly on one hand, and the National Assembly and the Judiciary on the other hand, was imminent over the Fourth Alteration of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Last week, the Supreme Court stopped the National Assembly from going ahead to enact into law, the Fourth Alteration Act, which the federal legislature concluded on February 18, 2015.
In an April 13, 2015 letter addressed to Senate President, David Mark, President Good-luck Jonathan had vetoed some of the fresh amendments, saying they infringed on executive powers.
Two days after, the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution (CRC) at an emergency meeting, resolved that Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who also chairs the committee should raise a motion, to ask Senate President, David Mark, to formally write the President to return the original bill, including the signature page.
The resolution was arrived at when the president returned the bill to the National Assembly with the signature page containing a photo-copied version of the signature of the Clerk to the National Assembly, Salisu Abubakar Maikasuwa. However, it was gathered at the weekend, that the two chambers of the National Assembly resolved to override the President’s veto on the amendments.
Sources stated that the Senate CRC took the decision at a meeting convened after last Wednesday’s plenary, adding that the House of Representatives was on the same page with the Senate on overriding the president’s veto.
ABUJA—
The Senate, yesterday, vowed to proceed with the alteration of the
Constitution, saying the Supreme Court lacked the powers to stop it from
conducting its constitutionally enshrined legislative duties. Chairman,
Senate Committee on Information and Public Affairs, Senator Enyinnaya
Abaribe, said this while reacting to the ruling of the Supreme Court on
the matter brought before it by the Presidency challenging the recent
amendments enacted by the National Assembly which the President vetoed.
The Supreme Court had in the ruling last Thursday directed that the National Assembly should maintain the status quo in its bid to amend the Constitution.
The action of the Presidency challenging the constitution amendment in Supreme Court had jolted members of the National Assembly, who had reasoned that the Presidency had enough opportunity to point out areas it was not satisfied with the amendment process during the public hearing.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/constitution-amendment-s-court-cant-stop-n-assembly-senate/#sthash.B03T9CbP.dpuf
The Supreme Court had in the ruling last Thursday directed that the National Assembly should maintain the status quo in its bid to amend the Constitution.
The action of the Presidency challenging the constitution amendment in Supreme Court had jolted members of the National Assembly, who had reasoned that the Presidency had enough opportunity to point out areas it was not satisfied with the amendment process during the public hearing.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/constitution-amendment-s-court-cant-stop-n-assembly-senate/#sthash.B03T9CbP.dpuf