Reps Move To Strip VP, Govs, Deputies Of Immunity
Enamuzo Iboma
The House of Representatives has passed a bill seeking to strip the vice president, state governors and deputy governors of immunity from civil and criminal prosecution for second reading.
The proposed legislation is among 42 constitutional amendment bills passed by the House for second reading yesterday and referred to the Committee on Constitution Review for further legislative action.
The bill sponsored by Solomon Bob seeks to alter Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution to restrict immunity for the President and the Vice President while acting in the capacity of President.
The proposed legislation, according to its explanatory memorandum, is intended “to remove the immunity conferred on the Vice President, State Governors and their deputies, and to qualify the immunity conferred on the president.”
Currently, Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) grants the President, Vice President, Governors, and Deputy Governors immunity from civil and criminal proceedings.
According to Section 308(1)(a), “no civil or criminal proceeding shall be instituted against a person to whom this period applies during his period of office.
(b) A person to whom this section applies shall not be arrested or imprisoned during that period, either in pursuance of the process of any court or otherwise.
“(c) No process of any court requiring or compelling the appearance of a person to whom this section applies, shall be applied for or issued: provided that in ascertaining whether any period of limitation has expired for any proceedings against a person to which this section applies, no account shall be taken of his period in office.”
Section 308(3) specifically identifies the President, Vice President, Governor and Deputy Governor as beneficiaries of immunity from prosecution during their period of holding office.
However, the proposed legislation is seeking the amendment of Section 308 of the principal act by substituting a new subsection 3 which shall read thus “this section applies to a person holding the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Vice President only when acting as President in line with Section 145 of this Constitution.
“(b) creating sub section (4) thereto as follows: (4) The foregoing provisions of this section shall be inapplicable where the person to whom this section applies is acting in an unofficial capacity or where the conduct of the person is beyond the powers of his office or the conduct is criminal in nature.”
Additionally, the House approved a bill for second reading that seeks to amend Section 7 of the Constitution to strengthen local government administration in the country.
The proposed legislation, which is sponsored by the deputy speaker, Benjamin Kalu, and 8 others, seeks to substitute the existing section 7 with a new Section 7, which provides that:
“The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this Constitution guaranteed and caretaker committee is prohibited; and accordingly, the Government of every State shall, subject to section 8 of this Constitution and an Act of the National Assembly, ensure their existence under a Law which provides for their administrative framework.”
Similarly, the House approved for second reading a bill seeking to alter the Constitution to delist the local government councils as a tier of government funded by the Federal government.
The bill sponsored by Bob proposes that the creation and funding of local government councils should be vested in the state government.
Furthermore, the House passed for second reading a bill to amend the Constitution to provide a specific period within which the President and the governor of a state shall lay the appropriation bill before the National Assembly and the state assembly, respectively.
The bill sponsored by Mansur Soro is proposing amendment to Sections 81 and 121 of the constitution to make it mandatory for the President and state governor shall lay before the National and State Assemblies respectively, the “estimates of revenues and expenditure of the State for the succeeding financial year,” at least 60 days before the end of the preceding financial year.
Additionally, the parliament is proposing an amendment to the Constitution to establish constitutional roles for traditional rulers in the country. Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere and Ibrahim Aliyu sponsored the bill.
The parliament also approved, for second reading, a bill seeking the separation of the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation from the Minister of Justice, as well as the separation of the office of the Attorney General of a state from the office of the Commissioner for Justice.
Similarly, the House passed, for second reading, a bill to amend the Constitution to establish the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Accountant-General of the Federal Government.
