by Ranti Joseph

The Senate has demanded for the return of the bill sent to President Goodluck Jonathan for assent as well as the signature page.

The demand was to dismiss suggestions rife in the National Assembly on Thursday that the bill was initially signed by Jonathan before apparently recanting.

The House of Representatives also entered the fray on Thursday, with a directive to its committee on Constitution Review to study the matter.

Sources in the National Assembly believe that Jonathan had signed the bill and some legislators had evidence to prove this.

As a result of this, as the Senate committee on Constitution Review commenced its hearing on Thursday, there were suggestions that an enquiry be initiated to find out the real fate of the bill.

However, some in the leadership of the Senate eventually reasoned that the office of the President be spared the scandal of an enquiry and that options be given to the President to right the wrong by formally withdrawing his veto.

However, more acerbic senators in the committee, nevertheless, eventually prevailed with the resolution that the President returns the original bill with the specific clause of including the signature page of the bill as was sent to him for assent. As a way out of the lacuna, some senior officials of the National Assembly were suggesting that the President be given an opportunity to withdraw the letter and present the signed document.

In the alternative, some legislators were spoiling for an override of the veto, working on adopting the same approach in overriding ordinary bills.

The demand for the return of the bill was made on the floor of the Senate, following a personal explanation by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review.

According to him, Jonathan failed to accompany his letter vetoing the bill with the original copy of the bill sent to him for assent by the National Assembly.

Ekweremadu informed the Senate that the two-day retreat, which the committee had convened to discuss the President’s letter, could not make much progress due to the absence of the original copy of the bill.

He said the committee temporarily suspended the retreat until it was in possession of the original copy of the amended bill, adding that the work of the committee would be guided by the contents of the bill.

Ekweremadu said: “In the letter from Mr. President, he raised a number of objections with respect to the fourth alteration of our constitution. That letter was appropriately referred to the Senate Committee on Constitution Review.

“We slated to have a two-day retreat to consider the letter and advise the Senate appropriately.