Why Jonathan’s men mutilated his signature on Constitution bill

The Senate, yesterday, accused senior administration
officials of mutilating President Goodluck Jonathan’s
signature on the Constitution Alteration Bill to the
benefit of preserving their selfish desires and giving the
wrong impression it was never signed.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike
Ekeremadu in an interview told Vanguard that the
evidence of the President’s assent to the Constitution
(Fourth) Alteration Act was available to the legislative
body as he gave a stout rebuttal of the President’s
claim that he did not sign the bill.

Ekweremadu spoke ahead of today’s consideration of
the appeal brought by the National Assembly at the
Supreme Court against the earlier ruling by the apex
court urging all parties to the suit brought by the
Federal Government against the National Assembly on
the issue.

In a ruling earlier this month, the court had asked all
parties to stay action until June 18. Ekweremadu said
that it was in the desperation of the administration
officials to hide the mutilation of the constitution
alteration Act signed by the President that they took
the matter to court to enable them cover up the act.

A seven-man panel of justices of the apex court, led by
the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud
Mohammed, had ordered the lawmakers to maintain
status quo on the matter until June 18 following the
determination of the National Assembly to override the
president’s declared veto on the constitution amendments.

Senator Ekweremadu, who was chairman of the
Senate Committee on Constitution Review also
debunked insinuations that the Attorney General of the
Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke was against the
provision separating the offices of Attorney General
and Minister of Justice, saying that Adoke only raised
objections after the National Assembly rewrote the
constitution to make the National Judicial Council the
recommending body.