House of RepresentaTHIEVES No honour amongst thieves any more, We may dare say he is Ali Baba !
The House of Representatives yesterday ended its sitting abruptly, preventing members from discussing the absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua. With the House polarized into two camps, the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, adjourned the session barely one hour after it commenced.
However, the chairman of the committee on rules and business, Ita Enang, whose committee draws up agenda for House sittings said the blame for the brief session should actually go to his committee. “We had some problems, that is why the session was brief. The problem is entirely mine.” But he didn’t say what the problem was, exactly.
Dimeji Bankole yesterday threatened to expose committee chairmen who collected money to organise public hearings without carrying out the exercise.
Mr. Bankole said at the end of the plenary session that these chairmen came on behalf of their committees to collect these funds since November last year but for three months had neither organise the hearings nor explained why.
He did not mention the amount each committee received or the number of committees involved in this attitude.
The Speaker also asked the committees that are yet to submit their reports on the 2010 Budget to the Appropriation committee to do so immediately.
“You have the next few minutes before adjournment to do that work,” he said. “This is because the Appropriation Committee has, from Wednesday (today) to move on. Also, those committees that have received funding since November last year, and have not organised public hearings on the bills referred to them, I will not hesitate to announce their names on live TV on Thursday.”
Mr Bankole had, last week, pleaded with the affected committees to organise the hearings and told the committees that were yet to submit their appropriation report to do so.
Constitution Review
Also yesterday, a bill that seeks to expunge Section 315 of the 1999 Constitution scaled second reading in the House of Representatives.
The bill titled, “A Bill for An Act to Amend the 1999 Constitution,” was sponsored by Leo Ogor (PDP, Delta).
Section 315 reads in part that (1); “Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, an existing law shall have effect with such modifications as may be necessary to bring it into conformity with the provisions of this Constitution and shall deemed to be:
[a] an Act of the National Assembly to the extent that it is a law with respect to any matter which the National Assembly is empowered by this Constitution to make laws; and [b] a law made by a House of Assembly to the extent that is a law with respect to a matter on which a House of Assembly is empowered by this Constitution to make laws.” (2) The appropriate authority may at any time by order make such modifications in the text of any existing law as the appropriate authority considers necessary or expedient to bring that law into conformity with the provisions of this Constitution.”
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