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EXPLAINER: What the 16 Constitution Amendment Bills signed into law by Buhari means

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President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, at the State House, Abuja, recorded a landmark achievement by signing into law 16 Constitution Amendment Bills out of 35 such Bills transmitted to him for assent by the National Assembly.

The Bills which include the State Assembly and Judiciary Independence Bills, are quite significant as they will devolve more power to states while granting autonomy to the Judiciary, something many have been clamouring for.

Ripples Nigeria takes a look at what the signing of the Bills will mean to the structure of governance going forward.

1. Fifth Alteration (No.1): This new law amends the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to change the names of Afikpo North and Afikpo South Local Government Areas, and other related matters.

What it means:

The mew law effectively means that in Ebonyi State, the affected LGAs, Afikpo North and Afikpo South, are now to be known as Afikpo and Edda LGAs respectively.

2. Fifth Alteration (No.2): The law amends the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to change the name of Kunchi Local Government Area, and for related matters.

What it means:

By the amendment, the name of Kunchi local government area of Kano State has been changed.

3. Fifth Alteration (No.3): The law amends the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to change the names of Egbado North and Egbado South Local Government Areas, and for related matters.

What it means:

The names of Egbado North and Egbado South local government areas of Ogun State, are now to be known and addressed as Yewa North, and Yewa South, respectively.

4. Fifth Alteration (No.4): The law amends the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to correct the name of Atigbo local government area and for related matters.

What it means:

This amemdment in particular, has corrected the name of the local government area in Oyo State from Atigbo to its original name of Atisbo.

Atisbo was erroneously spelt as ATIGBO by the media when it was created by former Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha in 1996.

5. Fifth Alteration (No.5), the law alters the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to correct the name of Obia/Akpor Local Government Area, and for related matters.

What it means:

This local government area which is in Rivers State has been wrongly spelt as Obia/Akpor but the amendment means it will revert to its original name of Obio/Akpor.

6. Fifth Alteration (No.6): The new law alters the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to provide for the financial independence of State Houses of Assembly and State Judiciary, and for related matters.

What it means:

This law means that state Houses of Assembly, state Judiciary and local councils across the country will now have their financial autonomy, as against the practice of running the controversial State Joint Local Government Account where monies meant for the councils were lodged with states. With the Bill coming into law, a new “Local Govt Council Allocation Account” will be credited to receive the funds directly from the Federation Account.

7. Fifth Alteration (No.8): The law amends the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to regulate the first session and inauguration of members-elect of the National and State Houses of Assembly; and for related matters.

What it means:

This amendment means that the first session and inauguration of new members into States and National Assembly will be managed and controlled by the Federal Government.

8. Fifth Alteration (No.9), the law alters the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to delete the reference to the provisions of the Criminal Code, Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Act, Criminal Procedure Code or Evidence Act, and for related matters.

READ ALSO:EXPLAINER: How CBN’s cash withdrawal policy will see Nigerians help govt repay its huge N42trn debt. ⁩

What it means:

By this law, referencing the provisions of criminal codes, penal codes and other evidence acts have been eradicated in criminal or civil trials.

9. Fifth Alteration (No.10): The new law amends the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to exclude the period of intervening events in the computation of time for determining pre-election petitions, election petitions and appeals, and for related matters.

What it means:

The Bill provides for a speedy determination in matters of election petitions and appeals without the courts allowing the intervening period to be elongated.

10. Fifth Alteration (No.12): The law alters the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to provide for the post-call qualification of the Secretary of the National Judicial Council; and for related matters.

What it means:

This Bill has put to rest a controversy surrounding appointments of the Secretary of the National Judiciary Council and means that the computation of a post-call starts from the first year of call to bar.

11. Fifth Alteration (No.15): The law amends the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to delete the item “prisons” in the Exclusive Legislative List and redesignate it as “Correctional Services” in the Concurrent Legislative List; and for related matters.

What it means:

This particular law means that the term “Prisons” will be replaced with “Correctional Services”, and has been moved from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List.

This also means that states now have the power to establish Correctional and Custodial facilities, while State Assemblies have the power to legislate on such matters without reference to the Federal Government.

12. Fifth Alteration (No.16): The law alters the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to move the item “Railways” from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List, and for related matters.

What it means:

This new law means that the management of Railways in the country has moved from the Exclusive List to the Concurrent List, meaning that it is no longer an exclusive preserve of Federal Government.

Going forward, states will be able to make laws regulating the establishment and operations of rail services within their territory. However, the management of inter-state rail services will remain a responsibility of the Federal Government.

13. Fifth Alteration (No.17): The law amends the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to allow states to generate, transmit and distribute electricity in areas covered by the national grid, and for related matters.

What it means:

The amendment has removed the shackle of electric generation from being the exclusive duty of the Federal Government and gives states the power to generate, transmit and distribute power within its domains.

14. Fifth Alteration (No.23): The law alters the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to require the President and Governors to submit the names of persons nominated as Ministers or Commissioners within sixty days of taking the oath of office for confirmation by the Senate or State House of Assembly, and for related matters.

What it means:

This amendment effectively mandates the President and Governors to submit names of persons nominated as Ministers or Commissioners to the National Assembly and State Assemblies within 60 days of taking the oath of office for confirmation by the Senate and members of State Houses of Assembly. This is against the previous practice where the president and governors were not hindered by any timeframe to submit the names of such nominees.

15. Fifth Alteration (No.32): The amendment seeks alters the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to correct the error in the definition of the boundary of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and for related matters.

What it means:

This law puts an end to disputes on boundaries bordering the Federal Capital Territory by correcting previous errors captured in surrounding areas.

16. Fifth Alteration (No.34): This new law alters the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to require the government to direct its policy towards ensuring the right to food and food security in Nigeria, and for related matters.

What it means:

This particular law mandates the Federal Government to enact a policy that will ensure food security and right to food for every Nigerian.

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