NASS Will Resist Jonathan’s Bid To Frustrate Constitution Amendment, Says Ekweremadu

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On a last minute collusion course with the senate
On a last minute collusion course with the senate

By Nuel Suji, Abuja.
The Chairman of the Senate ad-Committee on Constitution Amendment,  Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on Monday promised that any effort by President Goodluck Jonathan  to frustrate the Fourth Alteration Bill 2015 will be resisted by National Assembly.

President Jonathan had last week withheld his assent to the bill which seeks to further amend the 1999 Constitution and even had sought the Supreme Court backing to stop the federal parliamentarians from going ahead with the exercise.

Prior to that, Jonathan and the senate had enjoyed cordial working relationship and cooperation since 2011.

But, Ekweremadu who spoke with journalists in Abuja during  the opening of a one-week induction course on legislative studies for new federal legislators  alleged that the presidency was just deceiving Nigerians with the purported court case against the constitution amendment.

In his words,“As I speak to you there is no court process that has been served on the National Assembly. So as far as I am concerned there is nothing in court.

“We also read in the papers that Bayo Ojo wrote a letter on behalf of the government, asking us not to deliberate on the matter pending the determination of the  matter in court.

“I want to also say that no letter was received from Bayo Ojo or anybody whatsoever. It is just sheer media propaganda. But I want to assure Nigerians that we will resist it.”

Senate President, David Mark who also spoke on the issue, wondered why the president took the matter to court even as he expressed confidence that the bill would still be signed into law.

He said, “The President has taken the bill to the court. It is a bill at the moment and it will be  signed. I really don’t see why they are in court, but anybody can go to court, so I can’t stop him.

“The President will sign the bills that he wants to sign, the ones he doesn’t  want to assent to , he will return to us and we will do the needful.”