House:Amendment of Section 144 to Be Re-introduced
From Onwuka Nzeshi in Abuja THISDAY | Feb.22.2010

A bill to amend Section 144 of the 1999 Constitution, which was thrown out last week after a voice vote on the floor of the House of Representatives, will be re-introduced, THISDAY has learnt.

Also, the backers have canvassed for electronic voting, describing voice vote as archaic.
The bill sought to transfer the power of the Executive Council of the Federation (EXCOF) to determine whether the Pres-ident is fit to remain in office to the National Assembly.

But the bill failed to scale through the second reading after being defeated by a voice vote.
Minority Whip, Action Congress (AC) Leader in the House and one of the supporters of the bill, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, said the backers would not give up as yet.
The lawmaker who sponsored the bill told THISDAY last weekend that its defeat is a negative development for constitutional reforms in the country.

They have therefore decided to introduce it again at a later date or wait until the Senate passes its own version of the amendment, in which case the House will have a second opportunity to effect the amendment through the legislative process of concurrence, he said.

He attributed the defeat of the bill to lapses in the system, particularly the use of voice vote rather than the electronic voting board installed in the chamber several years ago at a huge cost but has remained dormant.
He described voice vote as an archaic voting system that allows the individual lawmaker to vote with the crowd without being held accountable for the consequences of such votes. He said that given the importance of the bill in the current efforts to resolve permanently the problem of leadership vacuum in Nigeria, it was shocking that it was killed.
Electronic voting is necessary in order to preserve the right of everyone to vote on crucial matters and be held accountable, he said.

An interplay of negative political forces also contributed to the bill being thrown out, he argued. For instance, he said some legislators sacrificed national interest at the altar of primordial interest.

“What happened on the floor of the House, unfortunately brought out the primordial sentiments that still resides within the hearts and minds of some members of the National Assembly. It was a shameful episode that members can actually stand up to face the camera and against the background of what happened in the last one or two months, actually say and believe in themselves that Section 144 of the Constitution does not require amendment.

“I think that it came as a shock to not just some of us in the National Assembly but to Nigerians and the outside world. It is shocking that some legislators could stand up and say that that section of the Constitution is in order knowing that even up till now, a President has been away for 80 days and not even a single government official has seen or heard from him and the cabinet has still not declared him unfit.

“It is equally embarrassing that legislators can actually stand up and mix up the difference between Sections 145 and 144. On the floor of the House yesterday (last Thursday), some legislators stood up and said that since Section 145 was being amended, that takes care of Section 144. They must realise that section 145 deals with the issue of Acting President while Section 144 deals with permanent incapacity which allows you to have a Vice-President.

“But by and large, I think that a lot of things need to be addressed – we need to change our system of voting in the National Assembly to give way to a system where people can now be held accountable on national issues such as this so that you can no longer hide behind the voice vote of ‘yea’ or ‘nay.’

The people in your constituency whom you represent do not know where you stand on the issue because they do not even know which way you voted,” he said.

Gbajabiamila also faulted the process used by the House in arriving at the resolution, arguing that since the bill was not an ordinary piece of legislation but a constitutional amendment, the principle of two third majority of members voting on it should have been adopted.

“The way the proceedings and votes were carried out yesterday (Thursday) was illegal. I believe that the Senate has taken leadership again and I believe the Senate will amend Section 144 going by the trend of their debate. The House used to be the more proactive arm of the National Assembly, unfortunately that is not so anymore. If the Senate should pass it and it comes to the house I hope, pray and believe that members at that time will have done a re-think to understand that this is not about one man, it is an amendment for the ages and an amendment for posterity,” he said.

Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Climate Change, Hon. Bitrus Kaze, also condemned the development. Kaze said it was unthinkable to expect EXCOF to declare the President incapacitated given the fact that they are appointees of the President to whom they are loyal.

“Let us be honest, let us be sincere and let us be frank. Is it possible for you to declare unfit, the person that brought you to Abuja? Would you not be regarded as an ungrateful person?”
He argued that it is not easy for such appointees to bite the finger that feeds them. He concluded that an amendment that would take away the power from EXCOF to the National Assembly is reasonable.

The amendment of Sections 144 and 145 became necessary following the refusal of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to send a letter to the National Assembly to the effect that he is on medical vacation in Saudi Arabia.

The letter was intended to empower Vice-President Good-luck Jonathan to act as President. However, the National Assembly passed a resolution empowering Jonathan as Acting President, using Yar’Adua’s interview on the BBC in which he admitted being sick and away in Saudi Arabia for treatment and the doctrine of necessity.

Section 144 which gives EXCOF power to determine whether the President is fit or not to rule also became problematic when they unanimously passed a resolution saying he is not incapacitated.
EXCOF has since sent a team to Saudi Arabia to verify the President’s health status. They were compelled to do so after the resolution by the National Assembly.

Back to News Index