STATES REJECT LG AUTONOMY AS NASS SENDS 35 CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT BILLS toT BUHARI FOR ASSENT

The National Assembly says 35 constitution amendment bills have been passed by state assemblies.

The senate, on Tuesday, asked the clerk to transmit the 35 bills out of the 44 constitution amendment bills to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.

Among the proposed legislations not approved by the state assemblies are bills seeking financial and legislative autonomy for local governments.

The resolution to transmit the bills to Buhari for assent was passed at Tuesday’s plenary following the adoption of a motion by Ovie Omo-Agege, deputy senate president, and 66 other lawmakers.

Opeyemi Bamidele, lawmaker from Ekiti, who presented the report on the bills, said the 35 bills have been considered by 27 state houses of assembly.

The lawmaker said the 27 states that have passed their resolutions on the bills to the national assembly are Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, and Edo.

Others are Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Rivers, and Yobe

The legislator said the 35 bills have satisfied the provisions of the constitution for passage into law because it has been approved by not less than 24 state houses of assembly.

The upper legislative chamber asked Gombe, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara state houses of assemblies — which are yet to send their reports on the bills — to forward their resolutions.