Bukola Saraki, Nigeria’s Senate President on Friday said that the country does not require presidential assent to amend the Constitution.
The Senate President told Journalist in Abuja that it was based on that conviction, that the 8th National Assembly approved the removal of presidential assent to an amended constitution.
He said that going by the process of amending the Constitution, the final decision of federal and state legislatures should be seen as the decision of the people.
“Well, to me, if two-thirds of the National Assembly agrees to something and two-thirds of the state assemblies also agree, in my view, the President should accept that as the wish of the people.
“Does he really need to assent? Personally, I don’t think so; that is my personal view, because with two-third of National Assembly, two-third of states’ assemblies, the people have spoken,” he said.
It will be recalled that the 7th Assembly had in 2015, while reviewing the 1999 Constitution, approved the removal of presidential assent from the process of the amendment.
But, the then president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, refused assent to the amendment because of the removal of the clause contained in Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution.