Constitution Amendment: How The Senate Voted
· The Senate has voted against devolution of powers.
· The Senate has also voted overwhelming in support of local government autonomy.
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· Voted in favour of immunity for lawmakers in respect of words spoken or written at plenary sessions. The clause also makes it obligatory for the President to deliver a state of the nation address to a joint session of the National Assembly.
· Voted in favour of the amendments that the President must nominate ministers within thirty days and attache the portfolios of the ministers to the Senate when sending for confirmation.
· It was bad news for women and gender rights activists as the Senate votes against 35 percent affirmative action for women in the fourth constitution amendment process. Senators voted 49 YES and 43 NO. The two third majority was not reached.
· The Senate has also voted against amending a section of the constitution to guarantee a married woman’s right to choosing either her indigeneship by birth or by marriage for the purposes of appointment or election.
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· Voted in favour of the “not too young to run” as it reduced the age qualification for the office of the President and Senate President to 35 years down from 40 and House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly to 25 years down from 30.
· Senate votes in favour of Independent Candidacy as it amends the 1999 Constitution 82 Senators voted YES, 5 Senators voted NO
How Senators Voted 33 Bills In The Constitution Review
- Members of the Council of States.
Yes: 95
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- Authorization of expenditure
Yes: 93
No: 1
Abstain: 1
- Deletion of National Security Agencies from the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Yes: 92
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No: 2
Abstain: 0
- Deletion of State INEC from Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Yes: 73
No: 19
Abstain: 2
- Deletion of Land Use Act from Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Yes: 46
No: 44
Abstain: 0
- Deletion of Public Complaint Act from Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Yes: 90
No: 1
Abstain: 2
- Deletion of National Youth Service Corps decree from Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Yes: 88
No: 3
Abstain: 0
- Authorization of expenditure time frame for laying Appropriation bill, Passage etc
Yes: 94
No: 0
Abstain: 0
- Reduction of Age for Election
Yes: 86
No: 10
Abstain: 1
Revote
Yes: 92
No: 4
Abstain: 0
- Investment and Securities Tribunal
Yes: 76
No: 14
Abstain: 5
- Removal of law making power from Executive Arm.
Yes: 89
No: 3
Abstain: 0
- Procedure for Overriding Presidential Veto in Constitutional Alteration
Yes: 87
No: 4
Abstain: 0
- Citizenship and indigeneship
Yes: 49
No: 46
Abstain: 0
- Consequential Amendment on Civil Defence
Yes: 97
No: 0
Abstain: 0
- Determination of pre-election matters.
Yes: 97
No: 0
Abstain: 0
- Office of Auditor-General to be included in first line charge of consolidated revenue.
Yes: 95
No: 0
Abstain: 0
- Separation of Office of the Attorney General from the Minister/Commissioner of Justice
Yes: 95
No: 1
- Restriction of the tenure of President and Governor
Yes: 88
No: 0
Abstain: 1
- Change of names of some LG councils: Ebonyi, Oyo, Ogun, Plateau and Rivers.
Yes: 84
No: 2
Abstain: 2
- Independent Candidacy
Yes: 82
No: 5
Abstain: 3
- Appointment of Minister from the FCT
Yes: 77
No: 12
Abstain: 3
- Submission of Commissioners Nominees with their Portfolios
Yes: 84
No: 7
Abstain: 0
- 35% affirmative action for women as ministers
Yes: 49
No: 43
Abstain: 2
- Submission of Ministerial Nominees with their Portfolios
Yes: 78
No: 16
Abstain: 1
- Time frame for submission of names of ministerial nominees
Yes: 75
No: 19
Abstain: 0
- Presidential Assent
Yes: 95
No: 1
Abstain: 0
- Political Parties and Electoral Matters : Time to conduct Bye Elections and Power to deregister parties
Yes: 90
No: 0
Abstain:0
- Immunity for legislators for Acts in Course of Duty
Yes: 93
No: 1
Abstain:1
- State creation and boundary adjustment
Yes: 47
No: 48
Abstain: 0
- Democratic Existence funding and tenure of LG council
Yes: 88
No: 7
Abstain:1
- Distributable account for LG’s to have their own special account
Yes: 84
No: 8
Abstain: 1
- Financial Autonomy of State Legislature
Yes: 90
No: 5
Abstain: 0
- Devolution of Power
Yes: 90
No: 5
Abstain: 0
