PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, refused to sign into law constitution amendment bills on power to summon the president and governors.

Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, who disclosed this in Abuja, lamented the refusal of the president’s assent to constitution alteration bill and 18 others, out of the 35 alterations  forwarded to him in January for assent.

He said only 16 of the bills were assented to by the President, adding that the most striking of the assented 16 bills was the fifth alteration bill number 6, which made provisions for financial independence of state Houses of Assembly and the Judiciary.

He said those that dwelt on power devolutions in the areas of moving railway services, prisons and power generation and distribution from the exclusive list to concurrent list were ignored by the president.

He said both chambers of the National Assembly would pursue vigorously assent to the 19 bills yet to be assented to by the president.

The first of such 19 bills not assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari was fifth alteration bill number 24 , which sought an Act to alter the second schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to empower the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly to summon the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and governors of states to answer questions on issues on which the national and state Houses of Assembly had the powers to make.

It will be recalled that President Buhari had last Friday assented to 16 of 35 constitution alterations bills transmitted to him for assent by the National Assembly.

Also included in the bills rejected is alteration bill number 7 which sought an Act to alter provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to compel persons to obey or comply with legislative summons, was refused assent by the President.

Others are fifth alteration bill number 29 which sought for an Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to provide for a State of the Nation and State of the State Address by the President and Governor.

Fifth alteration bill number 22, which sought an Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to specify the period within which the president or the governor of a state shall present the Appropriation Bill before the National Assembly or House of Assembly

Fifth alteration bill number 30, which sought an Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to include former Heads of the National Assembly in the Council of State.

Fifth alteration bill number 14, which sought for an Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to move Fingerprints, Identification and Criminal Records from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List

Fifth alteration bill number 18, which sought for an Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Empower the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission to Enforce Compliance with Remittance of Accruals into and Disbursement of Revenue from the Federation Account and Streamline the Procedure for Reviewing the Revenue Allocation Formula.

Fifth alteration bill number 66 which sought   for an Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Reflect the Establishment and Core Functions of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, among others.

[Vanguard]