The Senate on Tuesday commenced its final debate on the amendment of the 1999 Constitution with an assurance by Senate President, David Mark, that the senators would vote on Thursday on the amended version of the constitution.
However, one proposal that has already been decided on is the six-year single term proposal for the President, governors and their deputies, which after a three-hour debate, virtually all the senators voiced their opposition to the proposal.
Their opposition was based on the grounds that allowing a single-term tenure would only lead to the entrenchment of dictatorship and a regime of disrespect for transparency.
The lawmakers also unanimously agreed on financial autonomy for local governments, as they said it would accelerate development at the grassroots level.
The senators were also unanimous in their resolve against the removal of immunity clause for the president, governors and their deputies as recommended by the constitution review committee headed by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
Other amendments to the constitution that enjoyed overwhelming support of the lawmakers included financial autonomy for the Auditor General of the Federation, which Senator Lawan described as “a worthwhile amendment.”
However Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe cautioned his colleagues against the danger of removing the state and local government joint accounts, stressing that it would not solve the problem.
The debate on the report of the constitution amendment continues today and would be rounded up tomorrow.