Twenty-five state houses of assembly have withheld their votes on the 44 bills in the ongoing constitutional amendment unless the National Assembly considers and passes four new bills they have proposed.
This was revealed by the Deputy Senate President and Chairman of the National Assembly Adhoc Committee on Constitution Review, Ovie Omo-Agege in a press conference on Tuesday.
He said the 25 state legislatures resolution was conveyed by the Conference of Speakers of State Assemblies, in a letter to the National Assembly.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports that the proposed bills are those seeking to establish state police; establish state judicial councils; streamline the procedure for removing presiding officers of state Houses of Assembly and institutionalise legislative bureaucracy in the constitution.
However, only Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Delta, Edo, Kaduna, Katsina, Kogi, Lagos, Ogun and Osun states have successfully considered, voted on, and forwarded their resolutions on the 44 bills to the National Assembly, he said.
Mr Omo-Agege said it was legally wrong for the Conference of Speakers to use the four bills as a quid pro quo to act on the 44 bills the National Assembly transmitted.
He accused the state governors of being the brain behind the lawmakers’ action.
He said, “Although the Conference of Speakers did not allude to it in their letter, we are aware of the undue interference with legislative processes and the political capture of some state Houses of Assembly by some state governors.
“No doubt, some state governors have worked tirelessly to turn the Conference of Speakers and some state assemblies into political puppets, thereby undermining and delegitimising the legislative institution at the state level.
“This interference has been ramped up, especially in opposition to the bills granting financial and administrative autonomy to local governments.
“An independent state legislature is essential to the well-being of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy. That is why the ongoing attempt by some state governors, with the support of some speakers and allies in the state Houses of Assembly, to eliminate that independence should alarm all Nigerians”
Mr Omo-Agege said the National Asembly would not be arm-twisted into considering the assembly speakers’ demands by threatening to withhold their votes on the 44 bills transmitted to them.
He said, “Even this position they are taking right now, the position seeking to pretty hold these bills to ransom, this position only came after the votes.
“Maybe if you told the members of the National Assembly that unless and until you pass these bills, we would not consider the others, I don’t know if maybe members would have been intimidated. For sure I would not be.
“But if there are members that would have been intimidated by that kind of threat, maybe it could move them. But the bottom line is that these threats only came after the votes had been taken.”
He said state police was among the bills considered during committee deliberations but it was voted down, with members fearing that state governments may not be able to properly fund it.
The deputy senate president said the governors clamouring for state police also failed to lobby members of the National Assembly to convince them.
