By Gabriel Enogholase
BENIN—EDO State House of Assembly yesterday became the first State legislature to ratify the amended 1999 Constitution. It also agreed with the amendments  by the National Assembly to expunge relevant sections of the constitution preventing corrupt politicians from contesting future elections.

The Assembly also supported a proposal which would make it legal for a serving legislator to defect from the political party in which he was elected to another political party without forfeiting his seat.

The sections of the Principal Act which are to be expunged for corrupt politicians to hold public offices include section 66 sub-section 1(h), section 107 sub-section 1(h), section 137 sub-section 1(i) and section 182 sub-section 1(i).

In the Principal Act, the sections state that a person shall not be qualified as a legislator or a president or governor, if “he has been indicted for embezzlement or fraud by a Judicial Commission of Enquiry or an Administrative Panel of Inquiry or a Tribunal set up under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act, a Tribunals of Inquiry Law or any other law by the Federal or State Government which indictment has been accepted by the Federal or State Government, respectively.”

At its sitting on Tuesday, the Edo state legislature however rejected 14 alterations to various sections as well as the proposed amendment to the 6th schedule of the constitution even as it however upheld the proposed citation clause  amendment to various items of the 2nd and 3rd schedule and alterations to 17 sections and the substitution of the contentious sections 145 and 190.

The proposal by the National Assembly to transfer sections 221 to 227 to the Electoral Act was also upheld by the Edo State lawmakers.

Earlier, the Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr.. Paul Ohonbanmu while presenting the report of the House Standing Committee on Judiciary Human Rights and Legal Matters said a public hearing was conducted where interested stakeholders made inputs to the amendment of the 1999 constitution.

The one-point recommendation of the committee, according to him, was that the House should carefully consider the proposals of the amendment to reflect the wishes and demands of Edo people which is the reflection of the recommendations of the Justice Uwais_led Electoral Reform Panel report in the proposed amendment.

Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Bright Omokhodion while commending members for their contributions, directed that clean copies of the bill which was adopted as resolution of the House should be forwarded to the Clerk of the National Assembly.