Ekweremadu fights Jonathan over Constitution amendment

Chairman of the Senate ad-Committee on Constitution Amendment,  Senator Ike

Ekweremadu, has vowed that the National Assembly will do everything within its powers to resist any attempt by President Goodluck Jonathan, to frustrate the Fourth Alteration Bill 2015.

Jonathan recently withdrew his assent to the bill which seeks to further amend the 1999 Constitution, and instead asked the Supreme Court to stop the federal parliamentarians from going ahead with the exercise.

But Ekweremadu, who spoke with journalists in Abuja at the opening of a one-week induction course on legislative studies for new federal legislators on Monday,  alleged that the presidency was just deceiving Nigerians with the purported court case against the constitution amendment.

He said, “As I speak to you there is no court process that has been served on the National Assembly. So as far as I am concerned there is nothing in court.

“We also read in the papers that Bayo Ojo wrote a letter on behalf of the government, asking us not to deliberate on the matter pending the determination of the  matter in court.

“I want to also say that no letter was received from Bayo Ojo or anybody whatsoever. It is just sheer media propaganda. But I want to assure Nigerians that we will resist it.”

Senate President, David Mark who also spoke on the issue, wondered why the president took the matter to court even as he expressed confidence that the bill would still be signed into law.

He said, “The President has taken the bill to the court. It is a bill at the moment and it will be  signed. I really don’t see why they are in court, but anybody can go to court, so I can’t stop him.

“The President will sign the bills that he wants to sign, the ones he doesn’t  want to assent to , he will return to us and we will do the needful.”

Mark,  lamented the high turnover of federal legislators in the incoming eight National Assembly and expressed fears that the development will affect quality lawmaking in the next four years.

The senate president noted with concern that the incoming eight National Assembly which has the highest turnover of legislators since 2003, will impact negatively on quality lawmaking in the country.