Senate passes bill to empower NASS, State Assemblies to summon President, Govs over security concerns
Okays possible conviction as penalty for failure to honour summons
By Emma Ogbuehi
In line with the ongoing Constitution Review, the Senate on Tuesday rejected bills to alter Part I of the Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to include Value Added Tax on the Exclusive Legislative List; Removal of Transitional Law-making Powers of the Executive; to provide for Diaspora voting; to grant Mayoralty Status for the FCT; and appointment of Minister from the FCT.
The chamber also turned down a bill to provide for more seats for women in the National and State Houses of Assembly.
The Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, however, passed a bill to empower the National Assembly and State Assemblies to summon the President and State Governors to answer questions bothering on security or any other issues on which the National and State Houses of Assembly have powers to make laws.
The bill seeks alteration to Section 67 of the Principal Act by inserting after subsection (3), a new subsection (4).
The new subsection (4) provides: “Nothing in this section shall preclude the National Assembly from summoning the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to attend a joint session of the National Assembly to answer questions on national security or any issue whatsoever, over which the National Assembly has powers to make laws.”
The bill further seeks to alter Section 108 of the Principal Act to insert a new subsection (4) to provide: “Nothing in this section shall preclude the House of Assembly of the State from summoning the Governor of the State to attend a sitting of the House of Assembly to answer questions on security or on any issue whatsoever, over which the House of Assembly has powers to make laws.”
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Out of a total of 93 registered Senators, 77 voted in favour of the bill to summon the President and Governors, 13 against and one lawmaker abstained, bringing total votes to 91.
The chamber also approved a bill to include Presiding Officers on the membership of the National Security Council.
The Senate also passed a bill to make it an offence, and to provide for the possible conviction of any person who refuses to honour the summons of the National Assembly or any of its committees.
The bill seeks to alter Section 129 of the Principal Act to insert after subsection (2), a new subsection (3).
The new section provides: “Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Constitution, any person who after having been summoned to attend, fails, refuses or neglects to do so and does not excuse such failure, refusal or neglect to the satisfaction of the House or the Committee in question, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to such punishment as shall be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.
