The controversial Fourth Alteration of the 1999 Constitution has been gazetted, The Nation learnt yesterday.
A source close to the leadership of the National Assembly told our correspondent that a clean copy of the Fourth Alteration Bill 2015 (Constitution Amendment) was gazetted yesterday.
The gazetting of the amended Constitution is coming despite the ruling of the Supreme Court that all actions on the review of the Constitution should be suspended.
The apex court also mandated parties to the suit on the alteration of the Constitution – the National Assembly and the Presidency – to maintain the status quo pending the ruling on May 17.
President Goodluck Jonathan declined assent to the alterations, citing alleged neglect of due process by the National Assembly in amending the Constitution.
The Presidency also took the matter to the Supreme Court to stop the National Assembly from overriding the President’s assent.
But the source said that gazetting the document was the first step to bringing back the amended Constitution to the floor of the two chambers of the National Assembly to override the President.
He noted that “when the document is brought back to the floor of the two chambers of the National Assembly, the Bill will be passed into law by two-third majority”.
Asked the likely implications of overriding the President’s assent when the Supreme Court order is that the National Assembly should maintain the status quo, he said that the apex court lacked the powers to stop the parliament from its constitutional duties of law making.
Moreover, he said that most of them “suspect that by fixing May 17, as date of hearing in the suit challenging the alterations of the Constitution, the Supreme Court was not mindful that the life of the Seventh National Assembly that amended the Constitution would have elapsed”.
He added: “We are not disobeying the Supreme Court. We are merely carrying out our legislative duty, which included amending the Constitution when necessary.
“By gazetting the alterations, we can now go ahead to override the President’s assent pending the ruling of the Supreme Court on the matter.
“The Supreme Court itself knows that it cannot stop the National Assembly from carrying out its constitutional duties.”
He said that the feeling of majority of members of the National Assembly is that the withholding of assent by the President is in bad faith.
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