Constitution amendment: HURIWA slams National Assembly for discarding two key provisions

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has accused the National Assembly of doing disservice to Nigeria over its resolve to remove restructuring and the control of VAT by state from the constitution amendment.

HURIWA knocked the 9th National Assembly over 68 amendments proposed by the Joint Senate and House of Representatives’ Special Ad Hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution.

HURIWA in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, urged the coalition of Civil Society Organisations in the country to mount pressure on the legislature to ensure that unpatriotic provisions are not included in the constitution.

Members of the National Assembly are billed to vote on the recommendations on Tuesday and Wednesday, after which the proposal would be sent to the states for concurrence.

HURIWA said it is particularly appalled that the National Assembly did not include state policing and restructuring in the amendments of the constitution.

The group said that the lawmakers have ignored the clamour for resource control being made by the Southern Governors’ Forum and the Southern caucus of the federal lawmakers.

HURIWA, further stated that Nigerians will not tolerate any self-serving and unpatriotic provisions in the constitution such as the immunity and life pension for principal officers and judicial officers.

“These provisions must be expunged from the proposed amendments because they are not progressive provisions and they will create crisis of legitimacy for the amended constitution,” HURIWA warned.

The group said Nigeria must get right this time around by having a thorough review of the Constitution, which according to it, should be the last of the amendments for a long time to come.