Reps pass Authentication Act Amendment bill for 2nd reading

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed through second reading the ‘Act Authentication Act’, Cap. A2, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.comprising of four clauses.

The bill is seeking legislation towards fast-tracking the process of lawmaking devoid of unnecessary bottlenecks and delay that have characterized the new dispensation.

While leading the debate on the general principles of the amendment bill, the sponsor, Hon Benjamin Kali (APC, Abia), noted that the law which was enacted in 1961 to provide for the authentication and recording of Acts of the National Assembly has outlived its usefulness in the 21st century Nigeria, and thus requires urgent rejigging to meet current challenges of legislation.

According to him, “the Act, among other things; prescribed certain duties to be performed by the Clerk of the National Assembly in preparation for, and including, the presentation of bills to the President for his assent.”

“The enactment took effect on the 1st of January, 1962. Challenges of the Extant Acts Authentication Act Our legislative process is a thorough, painstaking and lengthy one and rightly so

“To ensure that the finest laws always emanate from these chambers, bills are caused to pass through three readings including scrutiny at the committees before they are finally assented to by Mr President. In the process, the input is taken from the general public, specialized and technical committees and sector stakeholders

“They are allowed to participate in the process leading to the final piece of legislation. Mr Speaker, Honourable Colleagues, laws are made to address gaps, issues and problems in our society.

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“It is therefore imperative that in our aspiration for an ideal society, as soon as they are discovered, these gaps must be closed”.

He argued further, saying that lawmaking in the current system requires that an average bill takes years to become law, adding that there are bills which have lingered in the system, outliving Parliaments. “This is nothing to be proud of”

He, therefore, gave justifications for the proposed amendment to include “the need for speed and efficiency in our legislative process, the need to ensure that the Clerk of the National Assembly carries out his functions dutifully and timeously; and the need to ensure that carefully considered bills are assented to in time, to address the gaps in the society for which they were legislated”.

“The bill which comprises of four clauses seeks to provide a time frame for the performance of the functions of the Clerk of the National Assembly under the Acts Authentication Act

“It seeks to provide for 30 days within which the Clerk of the National Assembly must prepare a clean copy of the bill passed by the National Assembly and authenticate same (Amendment proposed to section 2(1) of the
Principal Act); to provide for 7 days within which the Clerk of the National Assembly must transmit the already authenticated bill to the President for his assent (Amendment proposed to section 3 of the Principal Act)

“This will, in turn, mark the commencement of the counting of the 30 days required under Section 58(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Altered) within which the President must assent
or signifies that he withholds his assent. The bill also seeks to provide the Speaker of the House of Representatives with certain functions under the Act (Amendment proposed to section 2(2),(3) and (4) of the Principal Act)”.

The bill not subjected to the further debate was therefore passed for second reading upon being put to question by the presiding deputy speaker, Hon Ahmed Idris Wase.