Constitution amendment: Senate fails to override Jonathan’s veto

As the battle for supremacy between the National Assembly and the executive arm of government over the constitution amendment gathers momentum, moves by the upper chamber to override President Goodluck Jonathan’s veto suffered a setback Tuesday.
This comes as Ike Ekweremadu, deputy Senate president and chairman, Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, who presided over the session, announced an executive session of the Senate today to discuss the next line of action.
It was gathered that the amended constitution was gazetted by both chambers of the National Assembly on Monday.
The Senate had in a move to start the process of overriding President Jonathan’s veto of the 2015 constitution amendment bill, listed it for first reading at Tuesday’s plenary.
But Victor Ndoma-Egba, Senate leader, after presenting it as the first order of the day, moved that it be stood down till another legislative day without explanation.
Ekweremadu then urged all members to turn out en masse for today’s session “I request all of us to make available tomorrow to discuss the amendments to the constitution and respond appropriately to the development. Please let those who are not available know that we will have closed session tomorrow (today) to discuss this item so that we will be able to fashion out the way forward”, he said.
Recall that a seven-member Supreme Court panel led by Chief Justice Mahmud Mohammed had last Thursday fixed June 18 for further hearing on the case by which the tenure of the 7th Assembly would have ended.
Jonathan had withheld his assent to the 4th Alteration Bill to the 1999 Constitution. The bill had already been passed by the National Assembly and the 36 state Houses of Assembly before it was forwarded to the president for his signature.
He cited alleged breaches of Section 9 of the same constitution, arguing mainly that the lawmakers did not meet the mandatory four-fifth majority approval to alter the document.
Jonathan then followed up his refusal by dragging the National Assembly to the apex court in a suit filed by Mohammed Adoke, the attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice.
Among others, the Federal Government is seeking the nullification of Sections 3, 4, 12, 14, 21, 23, 36, 39, 40, 43 and 44 of the Fourth Alteration Bill, 2015.