The deputy Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha
yesterday incurred the anger of
majority of members at Tuesday’s
plenary, when he ruled in favour of a
bill seeking to water down the process
of impeaching the president and his
vice.
Contributing on the floor of the
House, most of them spoke against
tempering with the provisions,
indicating that they were not
favourably disposed to the proposed
amendment. It was obvious that most
of them spoke against it.
In reaction to his ruling that the ‘ayes’
had it when it was obvious that the
‘nays’ had it when he put the question
at the end of debate on the general
principles of the bill, most members
who condemned the bill sponsored
by Hon. Yakubu Dogara, (PDP Bauchi
State) walked out before it was read a
second time.
During debate on the general
principles of the bill, the majority
leader, Hon. Mulikat Akande-Adeola,
(PDP Oyo State), deputy majority
leader, Hon. Leo Ogor, (PDP Delta
State) and the minority leader, Hon.
Femi Gbajabiamila, (ACN Lagos State)
all said that section 143 of the 1999
Constitution which the bills seek to
amend should be left as it is.
Apart from the fact that the relevant
section of the 1999 Constitution had
taken care of the process to impeach
the President and his Vice, the
Minority Leader warned that the
timing of the Bill was wrong because
according to him, Nigerians could
interpret it that the House wants to
impeach President Goodluck Jonathan.
“I stand to congratulate my colleague,
Hon. Yakubu Dogara for the well
researched bill, but notwithstanding
the fact that the provisions of section
143 of the 1999 Constitution on the
issue of impeachment of the president
and his vice was not ambiguous, the
timing is also wrong because
Nigerians may interpret it in a negative
way”, he said.
Also contributing to the debate, Hon.
Uzor Azubuike, Hon. Uzoma Abonta
and Hon. Betty Apiafi added voice to
say that it was wrong to water down
the process of impeachment of the
president and his vice, adding that
according to the provisions of section
143 of the 1999 Constitution, there is
no ambiguity in the powers of the
House of Representatives to impeach
the president and his vice.
The short title of the bill is: A bill for
an Act to alter the provisions of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, 1999, to remove the ambiguity
in the process of removal of the
president and the vice president from
office on allegation of gross
misconduct and to provide for a more
transparent and democratic
procedure for impeachment and for
other matters connected thereto.
In his lead debate on the general
principles of the motion, its sponsor,
Hon. Yakubu Dogara had argued that
the provisions of section 143 of the
1999 Constitution was ambiguous and
that it should be made more
transparent in accordance with the
best practices in a democratic setting
Source:nigerianpilot.com/impeachment-reps-walk-out-on-speaker/

several issues here.

during the debate majority spoke against the bill
during the 1st voting majority said nay but the deputy speaker who was presiding said the ayes have it
then before the second reading majority of the bill opponents walked out.

Lets see how this end.
Where exactly did Nigeria copy voice votes from. There should be a foolhardy way of recording the exact vote cast for and against any bill in the house and senate. infact there should be a way of knowing exactly how each rep voted individually on all bills. that way we know their stand on all issues.

and what is the objective of walking out, is those opposed to the bill are in the majority and they walk out, will the remaining house members be adequate in number to pass a bill? how do you know the numbers remaining if they are also going to use voice votes.

and should 1st reading and 2nd reading be on the same date? no time to reflect or consult on issues before passing bills that can have profound effect on the country

Any bill that won't favor them will wont be passed

gboss4sure: Any bill that won't favor them will wont be passed

This signature of yours is the truest truth of the year.