Constitution: No rift between Senate, House – Nafada

By Luka Binniyat

ABUJA—The House of Representatives is not in conflict with the Senate over the draft amendments to the 1999 constitution sent to the states for ratification, the Deputy Speaker of the House and Chairman of the ad-hoc committee for the review of the constitution, Hon Usman Bayero Nafada has said.

Nafada said yesterday in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Hammeed Bello, that both the House and the Senate have worked tirelessly in concert to ensure that the harmonized version of the constitution amendment sent to the states receives speedy approval and that both chambers have no reason to disagree on the matter at this time.

According to Nafada, the attention of the House was drawn to an indication that the cover of the harmonised constitution amendments sent to the State Assemblies might be carrying the imprint of the Senate but with the right content, instead of the imprint of both chambers of the National Assembly, and as a parliament, the House had a responsibility to ensure that the right thing was done.

Accordingly, the House resolved to mandate the Clerk of the House to liaise with the Clerk of the National Assembly to correct the alleged anomaly inadvertently committed by the Clerk’s office who forwarded the document to the states, Nafada said.

He said the mistake has been corrected, adding that the action of the House was not intended to spite the Senate because there is no reason for it, in addition to the fact that both chambers have one goal which they have vigorously pursued both individually and collectively.

“It must be placed on record that the Senate and the House have mutual respect for each other in the course of the amendment of the constitution. We have come to the realization that although we worked separately at the committee level, but we have been able to work to full capacity and the outcome of separate consideration has yielded better result.

“This is evident in the harmonized amendment in which some clauses were taken from the House version while others were taken from the Senate version.”

The Deputy Speaker also expressed the resolve of the House to always work in harmony and collaborate more closely with the Senate for effective legislative engagement in the overall national interest.