The bill titled “an Act to Alter the Provisions of Section 143 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Remove Ambiguities in the Process of Removal of the President from Office on Allegations of Gross Misconduct and to Provide for a more Transparent and Democratic Procedure for Impeachment and other Matters Connected” was passed for second reading amidst intense debate and against the grain of contributions which favoured dumping the intended constitutional amendment.
Leading the debate, the lead sponsor of the bill, Hon. Yakubu Dogara (PDP Bauchi) anchored his arguments on the need to remove the powers of appointing a 7-man panel comprising of persons of unquestionable integrity from the purview of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) as presently provided for in the constitution and transfer same to the legislature. According to him, since the CJN is an appointee of the President, the panel to be so appointed by him/her cannot be trusted to do an unbiased job because of assumed loyalties.
Anticipating opposition to his proposal, Hon. Dogara tried to cajole his colleagues by saying the target of the amendment is not the incumbent President but for the interest of the country. He said; “The essence of the bill is meant to hold the executive accountable so that checks can be created, and it is not meant to target this term but rather make the process less ambiguous on grounds of misconduct. Let’s all look at this and do it in the interest of Nigerians.”
But at this point, political insinuations had been read into the bill as member after member who contributed spoke against the proposal mainly on the ground that it would be misread and misinterpreted by majority of Nigerians as being targeted at the incumbent president. Based on this reason and other constitutional arguments, the House was urged by many contributors to drop the bill.
First to kick against the bill was Majority Leader, Hon. Mulikat Akande-Adeola (PDP, Oyo State) who said the bill was not necessary and it sought to undermine checks and balances embedded in Section 143 of the constitution. Speaking along the same line were Hon. Leo Ogor (PDP, Delta State), deputy majority leader, said the bill should be “confined to the dustbin,” Hon. Karibu Nado (PDP, Bayelsa), Hon. Uzor Azubuike (PDP, Abia) and Hon. Frank Enekorogha (PDP, Delta), among others.
Even the House Minority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (ACN) joined those who opposed the bill. He argued that the bill if passed into law may be subject to other ambiguities since gross misconduct can be subjected and redefined in any case. In his submission, he further urged the house to be mature with the passage of the bill as it may send wrong signals to the public.
“I will very quickly go on to shoot the bill down,” Gbajabiamila said, adding, “the timing of the bill is wrong and people will read meanings into to it, we must be mature about. The United States House of Representatives were caught up in something similar when the impeachment of President Clinton was going as regards to his affairs with an intern.”
Some members including Hon. Emmanuel Jime (PDP, Benue) and Hon. Bimbo Daramola (ACN, Ekiti) however spoke in support of the bill and urged the House to allow it pass for second reading.
Though debate on the bill was clearly skewed towards its rejection, when it was put to voice vote it scaled through as many members noticeably from the northern part of the country voted for it. The contentious bill awaits further legislative action by the Committee on Constitution Review
Are these men and women looking for trouble. We have enough issues to deal with and this is the only bill they seek to pass?
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