Buhari rejects Bill seeking legislative powers to summon president, governors

The Senate on Tuesday lamented President Muhammadu Buhari has rejected a Bill seeking to amend the nation’s constitution and empower lawmakers to summon the president and governors.

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, who made this known on Tuesday during plenary, noted that the rejected legislation was one of the 18 constitution alteration bill forwarded to Buhari by the National Assembly for assent.

Buhari had last Friday assented to 16 out of 35 constitution alterations bills transmitted to him for assent by the National Assembly.

The most notable of the assented 16 bills was the fifth alteration bill number six which provides for financial independence of State Houses of Assembly and Judiciary.

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Others were those that revolve around the power devolutions in the areas of moving Railway services, Correctional Centres and power generation and distribution, from the exclusive to the concurrent list .

Lawan, however, said that 19 bills that were not assented to would still be pursued vigorously by both Chambers of the National Assembly for that purpose.

One of the rejected bill was the fifth alteration bill number 24 which sought for an Act to Alter the Second Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

The bill sought to empower the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly to summon the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Governors of States to answer questions on issues which the National and State Houses of Assembly have powers to make.

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