amendment to the 1999 constitution after the resumption of both chambers of the National Assembly from the annual recess, which commenced last Friday.
Saraki gave
the assurance in Ilorin, Kwara State, while speaking with newsmen, shortly
after receiving a delegation of the #NotTooYoungToRun# group in the state.The
senate president linked the defeat of the devolution of powers bill to the
current wave of hate speeches across the country, adding that the current
mistrust among Nigerians also contributed to the defeat.
He said some
stakeholders misunderstood the intent of the proposed amendments in the bill as
a clever way of introducing restructuring and were not ready to back such a
move without proper consultations with their constituents.
He said that
the level of distrust and suspicion among Nigerians at this point in time was
unimaginable, and had created divisions along regional lines, as well as, in
the way people voted on the constitutional issues.
“This is
expected with the level of agitations in the country and the way opinion
leaders are helping to accentuate hate speeches and emphasisng issues that
could pitch one area against the other. The votes in the National Assembly
reflect the state of the country today. People voted to reflect the position of
their constituents. However, the National Assembly is still the best forum for
uniting the country and mending our fault lines. That is why I believe there is
still the opportunity to re-examine important issues like devolution of powers
to states, with a view to changing the present position on it,” he said.
Saraki,
expressed confidence that with more consultations, Nigerians would have a bill
that would devolve more powers to the states, and therefore appealed for calm
and understanding over the current development. He said the fact that the bill
was defeated once was no reason to conclude the battle had been lost in the
legislative process, and in accordance with legislative tradition.
He added:
“As you know, we have three senators representing each state and one from the
FCT and they all represent their constituencies and whatever they do there,
they must engage with and get feedback from their constituencies. I believe
that if this constitutional amendment had come maybe eight months ago, the
devolution of powers bill would have passed easily.
“But I think
we must be honest with ourselves that presently there is a lot of mistrust in
the country; the air is very polluted and let us be very frank, that blame must
go all round; whether it be to politicians, opinion leaders, socio-cultural
group leaders and some others, who are running commentaries and even some of
you in the media, who sometimes write stories that amplify hate speeches and
view points that are inaccurate,” the lawmaker said.
Saraki
continued: “And I think what happened was that a lot of our colleagues misread
or misunderstood or were suspicious of what the devolution of powers to states
was all about; whether it was restructuring in another way, or an attempt to
foist confederation on the country, or to prepare the ground for other
campaigns now going on in he country. Our colleagues also made a lot of appeals
that they had not consulted with their constituencies and you can see what is
happening. There was a meeting in Kaduna yesterday (Friday), where it was clear
that certain parts of the country wanted more time to understand what restructuring
is all about before joining the discussion.
“So it is
clear that not all senators were on board. My own advise is that we have spoken
a lot with the senators because we cannot bully them or stampede them, because
at the end of the day, this country belongs to all of us. You cannot hassle me
out of the country. Neither can I hassle you out. What we must do is dialogue;
reassure each other and let people understand that this concept is for the
purpose of making a modern Nigeria; that it is not going to, in any way
undermine any part of the country.
“I want to
appeal for calm. I am sure with the engagements going on, there will be
dialogue. I am also sure that by the time we come back from the present recess,
people generally would have a better understanding that devolution of powers to
states, as regards some of the issues that were put in that bill, is not a
threat to any part of the country, and I am hopeful that there would be change
of mind and position,” the senate president stated.
He advised: “I
think in the meantime, we all have a role to play. We must continue to have an
understanding. That is why the constitutional amendment can only be achieved
with two-third majority, so that majority of the country will always be on the
same page. Even if half wants it, it will not scale through so what the half
should do is to lobby and convince the others to get the percentage required;
not to harass them and hope that by so doing it would happen, and you can see
it was not just in the Senate. It also did not scale through in the House of
Representatives. But I am confident that it will happen.
He also
explained that the gender bill was defeated in a bid to include it in the
constitution, adding that what was not reported in the media was that the
sponsors were victorious because they got an undertaking from members that what
was defeated would be included in the Gender Opportunity Bill. “That was
something that would not have happened before…” he said.
The
#NotTooYoungToRun group, led by its state coordinator, Olasupo Abideen had
visited Saraki to express gratitude over the passage of the Not Too Young To
Run Bill and solicit his support for the remaining parts of the proposal, by
the Joint Committee on Constitutional amendment to make the amendment a total
success.Olasupo thanked Saraki and members of the 8th Senate for their interest
in the future of the youth, which made them to pass the bill. He recalled that
agitation for the passage of the bill started in 2012, adding that the Nigerian
youths would forever remain grateful to Saraki over his kindness towards them.
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