Prof. Sagay Faults Constitution Review Process

*Says Most Bills On Constitution Amendment Irrelevant To Nigeria’s Immediate Needs

Legal luminary and the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) yesterday faulted the constitution amendment process.

He said the National Assembly concentrated on irrelevant things, including local government matters.

Speaking on Channels Politics Today, Sagay said local government was a state affair and had no business in the constitution.

He said: “A lot of time was spent on bills that were totally irrelevant with regards to local government; we should not be talking about local government in the constitution.

“What they should have discussed is the total removal of provisions on local government from the constitution. Local government is a state matter completely; 100 per cent state matter.

“It has nothing to do with the Federal Government, so when you talk of funding the local government and how to create a special account for local governments different from those of state governments, it should not be in the constitution at all.

“There are only two federating units in a federation; federal and state, local government does not come in. It is for the state to determine how many local governments it wants, the type of local governments and how it wants to fund it.

“There should be a budget of the federation separate, the budget of states separate and the state should, in turn, create its own account for its own local governments.”

Sagay said none of the 68 recommendations touched on the core issue of restructuring that Nigerians have been clamouring for.

He said there should be reforms for states to have their police force.

“From what I have heard so far, nothing on restructuring has been touched,” he added.

On pension for presiding officers of National Assembly, the elder statesman said: “I’m glad it failed. I’m still angry about governors who have this humongous pension arrangement, which give them resources that are beyond belief.

“While we are still trying to cope with that, some people want to allow heads of legislative houses to enjoy the same sort of resources. I think that’s a good decision from the National Assembly.”

He also faulted the idea of the National Assembly seeking power to summon the president. He said: “I don’t like that language ‘to summon’; you don’t summon your head of state.

“The head of state is the number one citizen of this country; he is the representative of the country at the international level and he has to be respected.”

On the rejection of the bills on women, he said: “We have an unequal level-playing field; our women can’t compete with our men for political positions. I think what the National Assembly should have done is to reserve a certain percentage of seats for women in the legislatures, so that whether they compete with men or not they will be guaranteed that minimum number of seats like five seats.

“Maybe someone proposed too many seats, that could be a discouraging factor but otherwise, the principle is good; that our women should be guaranteed a minimum number of seats.”