A law to grant the two chambers of the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly powers to prosecute persons over corruption, if the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and the attorneys-general of states fail to do so after 21 days of indictment, is underway.
The bill is being sponsored by the deputy leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Leonard Ogor.
The piece of legislation, which would confer powers to bark and bite on federal and state legislators, is entitled “An Act to Alter the Provisions of Sections 89 and 129 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, To Direct the Attorney General of the Federation To Prosecute Any Person or Authority Found Wanting by the Senate or the House of Representatives”.
The legislative item has been prompted by the recurring disregard of resolutions, bills, motions and other parliamentary instruments by courts, individuals, ministries and other agencies of government.
The bill seeks to alter Section 89 of the Constitution to include a subsection (3) (a) and (b) immediately after the existing Section 2 as follows: To “direct the attorney-general of the federation to prosecute any person or authority indicted or found wanting by the Senate or the House of Representatives”.
The Bill adds: “Where the AGF fails to carry out the directive within 21 days, the National Assembly shall engage the services of any firm of legal practitioners to prosecute any person or authority indicted or found wanting by the Senate or the House of Representatives.”
The powers sought by the federal lawmakers would also be shared by the 36 State houses of Assembly of the federation by the alteration of Section 129 of the 1999 Constitution.
Another Bill sponsored by Hon. Ogor seeks for the establishment of a contingency fund for the presidency. The contingency, according to the prayers of the bill, would be spent “whenever there arises an urgent need for expenditure, for which no other provision exists in the Appropriation Act”.
The bill also seeks that: “The President shall be the only authority to spend and disburse from the fund to meet the urgent and unforeseen needs” of the country.
The bill adds: “There shall be credited to the Fund established, pursuant to section 1(i) of this Bill, a revolving sum of Ten Billion Naira only. Any amount standing to the credit of the fund as balance shall necessarily be rolled over to the next year and shall form part of the contingencies fund for that year”.
The National Assembly is empowered by Section 83 of the 1999 Constitution to make laws in that regard.
According to Section 83 of the 1999 Constitution, “the National Assembly may, by law, make provisions for the establishment of a Contingencies Fund for the Federation and for authorizing the President, if satisfied that there has arisen an urgent and unforeseen need for expenditure for which no other provision exists, to make advances from the fund to meet the need”.