Why Jonathan Declined Assent to Constitution Amendment Bill

President Goodluck Jonathan has given reasons why he withheld assent to the Constitution Amendment Bill 2015 sent to him by the National Assembly.

The president in a letter addressed to Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, which the speaker read at plenary on Wednesday, noted that it was unconstitutional for him to assent to the bill owing to certain inconsistencies and lack of clarity on the passage of the bill.

According to the president, Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, stipulates that any alteration to the constitution can only be effected by the votes of not less than four-fifths majority of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives and subsequently, approved by a resolution of not less than two-thirds of all the state houses of assembly.

According to him, in the letter however, there was no evidence that such requirement as contained in Section 9 (3) of the Constitution was met by the National Assembly before approving the amendments to the constitution.

On the alteration to Section 12, which guarantees the right to free basic education, the president said it is “too open-ended and should have been restricted to government schools,” adding that “this is because a right, unless qualified or restricted, must be observed by all.”

Similarly, he said, the alteration to Section 14, which seeks to veto his powers over assenting to bills after 30 days, was against the principle of checks and balances as contained in the constitution.

On the amendment that seeks to create a separate office for the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister for Justice, President Jonathan said the alteration was silent on who the nation’s chief law officer is at the federal level and the state level, asserting that “this is a serious lacuna, which may create implementation challenges.”

Moreover, the president questioned the removal of the powers to appoint the attorney-general from the president and transferring same to the National Judicial Council (NJC), adding that there is also no justification for providing special qualifications for the office of the Minister of Justice, which, he said, will now be like any other minister.

Other reasons Jonathan gave for withholding his assent include the alteration to Section 82 of the constitution, which seeks to reduce the period when certain amount from the budget can be spent from six months to three months, maintaining that the amendment “has the potential of occasioning financial hardships and unintended shutdown of government business, particularly where, for unforeseen reasons and other exigencies in the polity, the National Assembly is unable to pass the Appropriation Act on time.”

The president also picked holes in the amendment of Section 84, which provides a new office of the Accountant-General of the Federal Government, apart from the Accountant-General of the Federation, saying the amendment has not addressed the funding requirements for the establishment of the office.

Jonathan added that, “In view of the foregoing and the absence of credible evidence that the Act satisfied the strict requirements of Section 9 (3) of the 1999 Constitution, it will be unconstitutional for me to assent to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Fourth Alteration) Act, 2015.

“I therefore withhold my assent and accordingly remit it to the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he concluded.