by James Sambo

The Federal House of Representatives has moved to amend its rules to pave the way for the override of a presidential veto.

The move preceded the adoption of a motion entitled: ‘Amendment of the standing Orders of the House of Representatives: Order 13 Rule 98′, which is meant to provide for a veto override procedure in the Standing Orders of the House.

The motion was sponsored by Chairman House Committee on Rules and Business, Rep Albert Sam-Tsokwa, PDP Taraba and 22 others.

They based their argument on “the recent exercise of veto power by the President on the Constitution, Fourth Alteration, Bill, 2015 forwarded to him for assent and pending suit before the Supreme Court on same.”

Consequently, the House resolved that Order 13, Rule 98 be amended to introduce sub-rules (10)-(13) as follows:

“Sub Rule 10 should reflect that the final copy of the clauses in the bill that received the support of two-thirds majority of the state Houses of Assembly shall be compiled and if passed by a concurrent resolution of the House, shall thereafter be transmitted to the President for assent.

“Sub-Rule 11 should reflect that, where the President withholds assent, the Bill, if passed again by two thirds majority of members of the House, as required by Section 58 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 shall become law.

“Sub-Rule 13 indicated that notwithstanding the provisions of these rules, the process of passage of a Constitution Alteration Bill shall continue from one session to the other and from one Assembly to the next Assembly.

“When all requirements of sub rules (1) to (10) have been met and the President either withholds his assent or fails to communicate the withholding thereof, or any circumstance arises which makes it impracticable for the National Assembly to consider the issue of overriding the President’s veto before the end of the tenure of the Assembly, the succeeding Assembly may, upon such Bill being gazetted again and circulated, resolve to commence the process of veto override under Section 58 of the 1999 constitution.”