By Emman Ovuakporie & Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA—ATTEMPTS by the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, to reverse the recent amendment of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, by the two chambers of the National Assembly which had whittled down the powers of the Presidency in its supervision, faced setback yesterday.

Recall that penultimate week, the House leader had raised a Point of Order during plenary, alleging infractions in the amendment of the CCB and CCT by both the senate and House of Representatives which had passed through second reading and called for a reversal of the amendment.

This came on a day deputy spokesman of the House of Representatives, Jonathan Gaza Gbewfi, explained that the recent meetings among President Muhammadu Buhari, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the speaker, Yakubu Dogara, were designed to find a lasting solution to the current economic recession facing the country

Gbajabiamila, in his renewed efforts to revisit the CCT amendment, suffered a setback as the motion which was initially listed and slated for debate in the Order Paper was stood down.

Among the contending issues in the bill which was passed in June this year, was the reduction of the powers of the President to appoint chairman of the CCT which was now subjected to the confirmation of the Senate and the  introduction of a five-year renewable tenure system for the chairmen.

The senate had earlier okayed the amendment, a decision some Nigerians said was taken in anger and based on the travails of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, was going through in the hands of CCT for alleged false declaration of assets.

But Gbajabiamila in his bill, prayed the lawmakers to reconsider the decision, contending that the amendment amounted to an infraction of some provisions of the 1999 constitution (as amended.)

He premised his call on  the reversal of the amendment on Order nine, Rule one (6) of the Standing Orders of the House which empowered the legislature to reverse itself on passage of bills.

He also explained that by the reversal of the passage, legislators were to revert to the 1999 constitution, which conferred powers of  appointment of the chairman on the President, but with the recommendations of the National Judicial Council, NJC.