Constitution review: Senate laments the frustration of LG autonomy 

On Monday, the Senate underlined its displeasure with state legislatures’ actions that tended to undermine the plan for local government autonomy. 

At its meeting on Tuesday in Abuja, the upper house of the legislature passed 35 modifications, which were then forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari for his approval. 

The upper chamber revealed that certain state assemblies have not submitted their resolutions regarding the LG autonomy measures, preventing action on both those laws and other bills. 

The upper house then gave the National Assembly clerk instructions to send President Muhammadu Buhari the 35 pieces of legislation that have so far complied with Section 9(2) of the Constitution for his approval in accordance with the Acts Authentication Act. 

The Senate named Gombe, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara as the resistant states. 

In order to fulfil their legally mandated legislative obligation to participate in the process of amending the constitution, the states were asked to take the necessary action. 

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The Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, as amended, stipulates that an act to amend the provisions of the Constitution can only be passed if it is supported by a 2/3 majority of members of the Senate and House of Representatives and approved by both chambers. In a motion on the passage of the Constitution (Fifth) Alteration Bills 2023, sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta Central), and co-sponsored by 66 senators, 

According to the Daily Post, on February 23, 2022, 68 measures that sought to amend the Constitution were put to a vote on the Senate and House of Representatives floors. 

On March 27, 2022, 44 pieces of legislation were unanimously adopted by the Senate and the House of Representatives and forwarded to the state houses of assembly for consideration. 

The Senate acknowledged that 27 state houses of assembly from the following states had forwarded their resolutions on the Fifth Alteration bills: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross-River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, O