By Emman Ovuakporie

ABUJA—The House of Representatives will, today, begin clause by clause voting on the 71 harmonized proposed amendments to the 1999 Constitution in the committee of the whole.

All Progressives Congress, APC, lawmakers also yesterday stopped their Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, colleagues from reversing the absolute powers granted the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on the deployment of troops during elections.

Presiding officer at the plenary, Aminu Tambuwal, announced the decision of the House to commence voting, shortly after the presentation of the report of the conference committee on a bill for an act to further alter the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) by Emeka Ihedioha, the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the House Committee on the Review of the Constitution.

While announcing the decision to begin voting on the amendments, Tambuwal advised state caucus leaders in the House to mobilize their members for the exercise.

The Speaker asked  the lawmakers to begin to lobby their counterparts at the state Houses of Assembly to approve the proposed amendments to the 1999 Constitution by the National Assembly.

He said: “I, therefore, ask that all of us should act as advocates and lobbyists to the state Houses of Assembly to approve what we have passed here.

“I will also plead with all of us to be here tomorrow for the voting. I also plead with state caucus leaders to get across to their members to be here tomorrow so that they can vote on the amendments.”