By Okey NDIRIBE,Asst. Pol. Editor  Ben AGANDE and Inalegwu SHAIBU,
The amended 1999 Constitution may take effect next week. This was disclosed by Senator Olorunimbe Mamora in a telephone interview he granted to Vanguard last Thursday.

Senator Mamora who represents Lagos East Senatorial District at the Upper House further stated that as soon as  sections of the  amendment document  that were proposed by the National Assembly and endorsed by the at least 24  State Houses of Assembly  undergo the third reading at the National Assembly next week, the amended constitution would immediately come into force since it does not require a presidential assent.

According to him: “Once we receive the reports of the State Houses of Assembly and those sections that were endorsed by them undergo a third reading, the process would have been completed. This is in line with the provisions of section nine of the 1999 Constitution”.

He condemned the attitude of some state governors who influenced the  rejection of sections of the proposed amendments which endorsed independent candidacy and  granted financial autonomy to the federal and state legislatures adding that this  was against the principle of separation of powers.

In a related development, the  Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and Media who is also a  member of the Constitution Review Committee, Senator Ayogu Eze, yesterday said that the sections of the proposed  amendments  which were rejected  by the State Houses of Assembly would be represented  soon by the  National Assembly through the amendment process.

Senator Eze who addressed Senate  correspondents shortly after the amendments were submitted to the leadership  of the National Assembly yesterday said  the analyses on the amendments accepted by  the state houses of assembly would be ready in one week.

According to Senator Ayogu, the decision by the National Assembly to re-present the rejected proposed amendments  would be informed by their importance  to the polity.

In his own remarks shortly after the receiving the report of the 36 State  houses of assembly on the proposed amendments the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark said the National Assembly had proved its critics wrong by nearly completing the constitution amendment exercise.

Speaking on the widespread skepticism that trailed the constitutional amendment process the Senate President noted that with determination and commitment by all parties involved, the cynics have been proved wrong by the completion of the amendment process.

Said he: “We were aware that there were people who never believed us. Our critics thought  we could not do it. The skeptics believed we would not do it. Indeed, the skeptics disbelieved us.

The pessimists tried to convince everyone else we could not do it. The cynics sneered at our every attempt to do it.”.

He further  charged the Nigerian political elite to ‘grow and nurture the political will’ that will allow for the country’s constitution to be operational,  pointing out that this will ensure that  the constitution is held supreme by all adding that with little political will, we can take giant strides in the country”.

According to him, “Our nation is in a new in the search for its destiny as a great country.

We must neither falter nor succumb to our private or sub-group interest at the expense of the overall national interest. We must all conduct an introspective assessment of our responsibility to the nation as individuals with honesty and commitment.”