Constitution Amendment: Reps Remove Immunity for President, Governors

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Title: Constitution Amendment: Reps Remove Immunity for President, Governors
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Members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday endorsed new amendments to the 1999 Constitution. The endorsement was the remo...

Members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday endorsed new amendments to the 1999 Constitution. The endorsement was the removal of the immunity clause for the President, the Vice President, the governors and their deputies. By implication, occupiers of the offices can be tried for criminal offences while still in office.

A total of 252 lawmakers voted in Abuja to adopt 70 new clauses added to the constitution. The clauses were compressed into a constitution amendment bill already harmonised by a conference committee of the Senate and the House.

The motion for the adoption of the conference report was moved by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha. Ihedioha doubles as the Chairman of the House Committee on Constitution Review.

Under the new provision on autonomy, the President and governors can be prosecuted for criminal offences while still in office and stand removed from office once found guilty.

Local government councils will have full autonomy and are no longer appendages of state governments.
The new provisions have also created separate offices for the Minister of Justice and the Attorney-General of the Federation, with each office having clearly-defined roles.

Similarly, the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation has been placed on the First Line of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.

The provision for state creation has been altered to accommodate a referendum to be conducted in all local governments comprising a state to decide whether a new state should be carved out of the existing state.

Source: Osun Defender

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