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Amendment of 1999 Constitution to be completed before 2023 elections – Reps

September 17, 2021 No Comments

The House of Representatives on Thursday declared its readiness to complete the amendment of the 1999 Constitution before the 2023 general elections.

The House spokesman, Benjamin Kalu, who disclosed this to journalists in Abuja, said the constitutional amendment had reached an advanced stage.

He said the House was determined to complete the amendment process in the next two years.

The spokesman also revealed that the lower legislative chamber would beam light on revenue generation agencies in order to block revenue leakages in the country.

Kalu said: “We started in 2020 to reshape the Constitution of Nigeria which is almost becoming obsolete because the society is dynamic and as society progresses, different needs are defined and ways of solving those needs should be found in the grand norm.

“In the wisdom of the leadership of the House and the Senate, we decided to go for a review of the constitution. Last year, we scored a major milestone in making sure various steps needed to amend the constitution were taken.

“So many people want us to immediately review the constitution but we cannot. We cannot sacrifice quality on the altar of speed; so we urge Nigerians to be patient so that we go thoroughly.”

Buhari has no interest in amendment of media bills —Presidency

In the wake of widespread criticism over the attempt to muzzle the media, the Presidency on Wednesday refuted claims that President Muhammadu Buhari spearheaded the campaign.

According to a statement issued by Femi Adesina, a Presidential aide, the President has nothing to do with the ongoing attempt by the House of Representatives to amend the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) Act and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Act.

He made this clarification while fielding questions from State House reporters after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday.

Adesina further noted that only the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, could speak on the matter.

When asked to comment on the issue, Adesina said: “That’s not strictly a Presidency thing because the president has nothing to do with that. It’s a government thing and it’s the Minister that can talk about it. So, thank you.”

The aide also explained that the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, was studying the ruling issued by the ECOWAS Court over the suspension of Twitter services in the country.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that the ECOWAS Court ruled that Twitter users cannot be arrested or prosecuted following the suspension of the activities of the microblogging site in the country.