THE
National Assembly, yesterday, completed the amendment of the 1999 Constitution
with approval of life pension for anybody who has held office as President or Vice
President, Senate President or Deputy Senate President, Speaker or Deputy
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
But
beneficiaries of this gesture must be occupants who successfully concluded
their terms in office without removal or impeachment.
The
amended constitution, which was presented as motion, to the floor of the
Senate by the Chairman, Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999
Constitution, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, for onward transmission to the president
for assent, also made it mandatory for the president to appear once a year
before the joint sitting of the National Assembly to deliver an address in
respect of the state of the nation.
But
the president, in the expected constitution, loses the power to solely assent
to bills passed by the National Assembly. The same applies to state governors.
The
amended Clause read: “Any person who has held office as President or Deputy
President of the Senate, Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of
Representatives, shall be entitled to pension for life at a rate
equivalent to the annual salary of the incumbent President or Deputy
President of the Senate, Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of
Representatives, provided that such a person was not removed from office by the
process of impeachment or for breach of any of the provisions of this
Constitution.
“The
president shall attend a joint meeting of the National Assembly once a year to
deliver an address in respect of the state of the nation. He may attend any
joint meeting of the National Assembly, either to deliver an address on
national affairs including fiscal measures, or to make such statement on the
policy of government as he considers to be of national importance.”
