…Reps ’ll revisit it –Gbajabiamila
From Kemi Yesufu, Abuja
President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has blamed sentiments from parts of the country for the rejection of devolution of powers clause in ongoing 1999 Constitution’s review by lawmakers.
However, Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, raised the hope that the National Assembly was likely revisit the bill, which was rejected by the two chambers during the consideration of 33 bills as part of the constitutional amendment process.
Saraki who spoke when he appeared on News Agency of Nigeria Forum in Abuja, said if the voting on the amendments had come months before agitations for restructuring and inciting remarks from some Nigerians, it would have scaled through.
According to him, the fact that it did not pull through means that there were some Nigerians that were not sure of what it is, and a lot of people equated devolution of power with restructuring.
“This was why I said when I was in Ilorin that we should all blame ourselves because I think the commentaries by sections, groups and individuals have built a lot of mistrust. If the constitutional review had come like eight months ago, the devolution clause would have passed.
“I think that the sentiments, fake news and one part of the country saying they want to go and another saying they want to stay, contributed to the rejection.
“All of these issues created this mistrust as people are not sure of what it is all about and are having insinuations that some people want to play a fast one on them.
“So, those who were sceptical said they were not ready to support this and as I keep saying, we are a country of multiple religions, multiple ethnicity, which must be respected,’’ he said.
Saraki said that as a diverse nation with different ways of life, it was important to appreciate the concern of everyone on the state of the nation.
Acording to him, “you can’t bully people to go one way because that is the way you want it. The Constitution has said two-thirds; if you say two-thirds, that means you must have the buy-in of more than majority of the people.’’
He, however, assured that it was not the end-of-the-road for the clause in the amendment.
He called for adequate education, awareness creation and engagement of major stakeholders on the matter.
According to him, with adequate education, those with reservations will better understand the place of devolution of powers in the unity and development of the nation.
He explained that allowing states to handle functions like stamp duties, railway construction and investment, for instance, would bring to bear the benefits of devolution.
He pointed out that if Nigerians were properly enlightened to appreciate the benefits of devolution rather than the sentiments being built around the matter, the country would be better for it.
The president of the senate also explained that the lawmakers that voted against the clause and similar ones, might have taken the side of caution, not to attract the wrath of their constituents.
He urged them to use the period of the National Assembly recess, which began on Thursday, to consult more with their constituents on the clause so that when re-presented on resumption, it could scale through.
He urged Nigerians not to lose hope as such rejection was common in parliaments and was not peculiar to Nigeria.
Saraki said important matters like devolution of power in other climes suffered the same fate, adding that in most cases, they were re-presented with adjustments after further consultations.
“If we want this bill to pass, it is the same people that will have to make it pass. So, we cannot blackmail or bully them. We must convince them and get their buy-in.
“We all need to understand the process. First of all, constitutional review by its nature is not a bill that will just pass through the normal process.
“It needs two-thirds and that means they must be issues that a majority of Nigerians want.
“Secondly, because of the net effect of it, it is important that wide consultations are done. When you say all Nigerians want something, you will see it in the vote,’’ he said.
He maintained that he was hopeful that devolution of powers would receive the nod of majority of the lawmakers after the recess.
Gbajabiamila in a personally signed statement argued that each item which had been listed to be moved from the Exclusive to the Concurrent List in the constitution, should stand on its own.
He also assured that the devolution of powers will not lead to the country disintegrating.
The statement read in part: “Many of us will be asking for the issue of devolution of powers to be revisited upon resumption in September. The democratic process was played out, as it should be during the voting exercise. However the process is ongoing and not concluded. Under our rules, we do have a mechanism, which allows for rescission of a decision when appropriate or when new unknown facts emerge.
“For me, it was a mistake or oversight to have lumped all items for devolution under one umbrella or sub-head titled devolution of powers.
“There were about nine items including railways, pensions, arbitration, Stamp Duties, parks and others under the sub-head and members should have voted on each rather than vote in one fell swoop.”