The senate may have slated the much vilified immunity clause, which shields the president, vice president, state governors and their deputies from criminal prosecution while in office as one of the prominent items that may be reviewed in the next round of constitutional amendments.
Other important items that may tinkered with are the endangered National Youth Service Corps Scheme (NYSC) and the Land Use Act.
This fact came to the fore as the senate today, flags off yet, another bold attempt to amend the 1999 Constitution.
Indications of a fresh effort was given impetus at the weekend as the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution called for memoranda from interested Nigerians on areas of the constitution they would want to be amended.
Chairman of the Senate Committee, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, in a newspaper advertorial published today, itemised 16 areas of the 1999 constitution the committee intended to tinker with in the fresh amendment exercise.
Top on the list of the areas of proposed amendment are: the NYSC Act, the Land Use Act, the devolution of powers, creation of states, immunity clause, constitutional recognition for the six geo-political zones, role for traditional rulers, the issue of local government administration and fiscal federalism. Ekweremadu, who is also the Deputy Senate President, also listed other items to be considered during the amendment exercise, to include: the issue of fiscal federalism, removal of ambiguities in the constitutional provisions relating to constitution amendment, state creation, and boundary adjustment, the status of the Nigeria police, provisions relating to the judiciary, the executive, zoning arrangement, mayoral status for the Federal Capital Territory administration, as well as the issue of residency and indigeneship.
The committee requested the general public, civil society organizations, professional bodies and other interest groups to, within 50 days, submit memoranda on the listed items and any other matters that will promote good governance and improve the Nigerian State, but which require amendments to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.