President Muhammadu Buhari has assented to key historic changes of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.
This was announced on Friday in Abuja by Rep. Ahmed Wase, the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, who also serves as the Chairman of the Special Ad-Hoc Committee on the Revision of the 1999 Constitution.
Congratulating the president for his assent, he revealed that the Constitution, which will undergo its fifth amendment in 2023, was divided into 16 approved legislations.
He mentioned the bill to rename the Local Government Areas (LGA) of Afikpo North and Afikpo South in Ebonyi State as well as Kunchi LGA in Kano.
He said that the names of Egbado North and Egbado South LGA in Ogun had been changed, and that the name of Atigbo LGA in Enugu had also been changed.
According to him, the name of the LGA in Rivers known as Obia/Akpor was also changed, and the State Houses of Assembly and State Judiciary were given financial independence.
The rules governing the inaugural session and installation of newly elected members of the National and State Houses of Assembly have changed, according to Wase.
Additional changes may be made to the Criminal Process Act, Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, or Evidence Act.
He said the alteration was also to exclude the period of intervening events in the computation of time for determining pre-election petitions, election petitions and appeals.
According to him, the president also changed the legislation that would have allowed for the post-qualification of the National Judicial Council Secretary under the Constitution.
He said that the change resulted in the deletion of the word “prisons” from the Exclusive Legislative List and the replacement of it with the word “Correctional Services” in the Concurrent Legislative List.
The legislator said that the amendment would also let states to produce, transmit, and distribute power in regions serviced by the national grid.
Another amendment was the moving of the item “railways” from the Exclusive Legislative list to the Concurrent Legislative list.
He added that it also mandated that, within 60 days after taking the oath of office, the president and governors submit the names of individuals nominated as ministers or commissioners for confirmation by the Senate or State House of Assembly.
He added that it also required the government to focus its policy on ensuring the right to food and food security in Nigeria. He said others were to correct the error in the definition of the boundary of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Others focus on promoting true federalism, devolving power, and bolstering state legislatures and courts.
Wase, on the other hand, commended the 9th National Assembly’s members for their arduous efforts in ensuring the laws’ passage.
