Members of the House of Representatives are to vote on the 68 recommendations made by the Special Ad-hoc Committee on the 1999 Constitution Review including the Independent Candidacy which provides that anyone vying for the position of President must attain the age of 35 years, educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.
Such Independent Candidate must also obtain the verified signatures of at least 20 per cent of registered voters from each State of the Federation, provided that- a registered voter shall not sign for more than one independent candidate in respect of the same office, and the signatures shall be verified by the relevant electoral body.
For Independent Candidates vying for the office of the Governor, he/she must obtain at least a minimum of 20 per cent signatures of registered voters from each of the local government areas in the State while anyone vying for Chairman of Local Government must obtain at least a minimum of 20 per cent signatures of registered voters in each of the electoral wards.
It further provides that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) shall waive 50 per cent of the administrative fees for women candidates.”
The detail was contained in the proposed amendment to Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution Principal Act.
The lawmakers are also expected to vote on the proposed amendment to Section 180(2) of 1999 which provided that “where a person whose election to the office of the Governor or Deputy Governor was sponsored by a political party becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of his tenure, he shall vacate the office for which he was elected if his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of – a division in the political party of which he was previously a member; or a merger of two or more political parties or a faction by one of which he was previously sponsored.”
The lawmakers are also to vote on the proposed amendment to Section 162 which seeks to abolish State and Local Government Joint Account by providing for a new section (6) which states: “Each local government council shall maintain a special account to be called “Local Government Council Allocation Account” into which shall be directly paid allocations to the local government council from the Federation Account and from the Government of the State.”
It further provides for the establishment of a special account into which all allocations due to Local Government Councils from the Federation Account and from the Government of the State shall be directly paid and other related matters.
Accordingly, the National Assembly shall by law prescribe such portion of the money allocated to the Federal Government from the Federation Account to be used for the purpose of payment of teaching and non-teaching staff of the Universal basic education and such other purposes as it may determine.
(a) The House of Assembly of each State shall by law prescribe such a portion of the money allocated to the State from the Federation Account to be used for the purposes of payment of teaching and non-teaching staff of the Universal basic education and such other purposes as it may determine.
(b) The House of Assembly of each State shall by law prescribe such portion of the money of each Local Government of the State from the Federation Account to be used for the purposes of payment of teaching and non-teaching staff of the Universal basic education and such other purposes as it may determine, provided that such prescribed portion for each Local government shall not be more than the percentage of the portion from the State allocation.
“For the purpose of sub-section (8): Any portion of money so prescribed shall be first-line charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal and State government and in the case of a Local Government, from its allocation from the Federation Account.
“A body established by an Act of the National Assembly shall coordinate and supervise the implementation of the Universal Basic Education at all levels of government.”
The lawmakers are also expected to vote on the proposed amendment which seeks to alter Part I of the Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution to include Value Added Tax on the Exclusive Legislative List.
In the same vein, the lawmakers are to vote on the proposed amendment which seeks to provide for the financial independence of State Houses of Assembly and State Judiciary; and for Related Matters, among others.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…Electoral committee Electoral committee
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…Electoral committee Electoral committee