Supreme Court tells FG, NASS to settle disagreement regarding Constitutional Amendment within 24hrs

As the legal tussle between the executive and the legislative arms of government over the amendment of the 1999 Constitution continues, the Supreme Court, yesterday, gave a 24-hour ultimatum to the National Assembly and the Attorney General to resolve the dispute over the amendment of the constitution.

The court directed the two arms to meet and level their positions, because “the dispute can be resolved without the court’s intervention”.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria Justice Mahmud Mohammed who heard the case in the company of six other justices of the court issued the ultimatum following an application by the counsel to the Federal Government, Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN) to “substitute the AGF with President Jonathan as the plaintiff” in the suit.

Ojo, who sued the National Assembly in the name of the AGF was opposed by counsel to the National Assembly, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), on the ground that the originating summons was “incurably defective”, having sued through an improper party, which is the AGF.

Ojo said his application dated May 20 is to cure the defectiveness of the suit.

The CJN, however, disagreed with Ojo on the ground that the affidavit “remains defective.”

However, the inability of the counsel to the National Assembly to give undertaking on preservation of the last order on status quo prompted the court to ask the parties to go and reconcile and bring the report of their reconciliation tomorrow (Wednesday).

Last week, NASS asked the apex court to discharge the interlocutory orders of injunction made on May 7, 2015, barring the lawmakers from overriding the president’s veto.

In the application, Awomolo is asking the court to dismiss the originating summons filed by the Attorney General of the Federation on the grounds that: “The originating summons dated April 22, 2015 is incompetent, fundamentally and incurably defective and, thereby, robs the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction.”