Emerging report reaching Page 36 on Thursday night, indicates that the Deputy President of the 9th Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has said that the Federal Lawmakers cannot write a brand new Constitution, as being demanded in many quarters, as a means to save the country from division.
He stated that they only have the power to alter some parts of the already existing 1999 Constitution, as amended.
Senator Omo-Agege who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, urged all those agitating for a new Constitution, to mount pressure on their Representatives at the National Assembly.
According to him, the extant legal order only provides for alterations, not a total overhaul, stressing that Section 9 which some often quote, envisages that any provision of the Constitution can be altered, but not all at once.
Senator Omo-Agege further disclosed that for a rewrite of the Constitution to be done, then Section 9 would have to be amended, however, for this section to be revised, four-fifth vote in the Senate, which is about 88 Senators out of 109, and about 288 members of the House of Representatives.
The Deputy Senate President said that a Bill needs to be put forward to effect an amendment of Section 9, but however, noted that it is very difficult to muster the vote needed for a revision of the Section that could give the power needed to have the present Constitution repealed.
Speaking further, he assured Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari is interested in the constitutional review process, and will assent to any Bill that emanates from it.
More news later…
