By Simon Ebegbulem
BENIN—THE senator representing Edo South senatorial district of Edo state, Senator Ehigie Uzamere, has faulted the decision by the Edo State House of Assembly, to reject the copy of the amended constitution sent to State Houses of Assembly by the National Assembly, explaining that they ought to concur with the decision of the National Assembly and not to call a public hearing on the issue.

Uzamere also asked the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Dimeji Bankole, to apologize to the Senate President, Senator David Mark, for accusing the latter of doctoring the constitutional amendment proposal sent to the Houses of Assembly.

Uzamere, who frowned that the Edo State House of Assembly adopted the decision of the participants at the public hearing on the constitutional amendment in the state, where they insisted on the Justice Muhammed Uwais report, explained that “My brothers in the state House of Assembly are not supposed to call for public hearing as far as I am concerned.

The constitution requires 2/3 of the states which is 24 states out of the 36 states of the Federation for the constitution to get the required legal backing.

“So for them to have called for public hearing was wrong and uncalled for. Their role is to concur to what we have done. That public hearing was called when we asked our people to come to Port Harcourt to give their positions on what aspect of the constitution they want amended.

And that was published in all the newspapers. So I expected the people of Edo state to have come to Port Harcourt, not at this level when the amendment has been done to the constitution.

“So I think they should know their role, their role is for them to concur and if they do not concur, that is a different matter but calling for public hearing to change what we have decided is very wrong” he stated.

Uzamere who spoke to Vanguard in an interview with in Benin City added that  “ they were only expected to concur and not calling for public hearing which has earlier been conducted in Port Harcourt when the committee on constitutional review visited the zone”.

Describing as unfair the statement credited to Speaker Dimeji Bankole as regards the harmonized copy of the constitutional, Uzamere reasoned hat if the Speaker had any serious issue that he wants addressed, he should have called the attention of the Senate President instead of raising unnecessary alarm in the press.

His words: “As a member of the constitutional review committee representing Edo state, I think that it was very unfair of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

I think if he has issues to settle with the Senate President, he should meet him and iron it out rather than going public. But however, I find it difficult for the Senate President to doctor any of the recommendations as recommended by the harmonized version of the senate and the House.

“I think the senate President deserves an apology from Bankole. As far as I am concerned the Senate President never doctored any of the recommendations as harmonized by the two chambers.

As a member of the Constitutional Review Committee, we came out with very clean bills which were harmonized by the two Houses and I think the Speaker of the House should come up and apologize to the Senate President for that if he actually said so in the press” he stated.