The Ogun State House of Assembly, Thursday, voted in favour of 16 items out of 20 Clauses sent to it by the National Assembly as part of the process of the on -going fourth Alteration of the 1999 constitution amendment.
Some of the clauses that scaled through on the floor of the State House of Assembly included the clauses to include former Heads of the National Assembly in the Council of State; Financial Autonomy of State Legislature; strengthening of Local Government administration and immunity for members of the legislature in respect of the words spoken and written at plenary or Committee proceedings and institutionalize legislative bureaucracy.
Other clauses that received the nod of the Assembly were provision of sufficient time for Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct by-election and provide grounds for deregistration of political parties; provision of timely passage of bills as well as the clause which required the
President and Governor to submit the names of Ministerial or Commissioner nominees within 30 days of taking the Oath of Office for confirmation by the Senate or State House of Assembly.
The Assembly also supported the provision for independent candidature in election, just as the separation of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federal Government from that of the Office of the Accountant- General of the Federation and to make the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation and that of the State financially independent by placing them on the Consolidated Revenue also scaled through.
In addition, the clause meant to further strengthening the judiciary for the speedy dispensation of justice; provision of time for the determination of pre-election matters and that which provides for the procedure for passing constitution alteration bill when the President withholds his assent as well as reduction of age for election among others.
Those clauses that could not scale through were authorization of expenditure, distributable pool account which abrogates the State Joint Local Government Account; restriction of tenure of Presidents and governors as well as consequential amendment of civil defence.
Packaged by Hazeez Ayansola
