On Tuesday, some of the lawmakers resisted moves by Senate Vice President Ovie Omo-Agege to revise a bill that senators had already voted on during the constitutional amendment.
The Senate voted on 68 amendments to the 1999 Constitution.
The amendments were proposed by the joint ad hoc committees on revision of the constitution of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
As the Senate completed the exercise, Omo-Agege, who chairs its ad hoc committee, asked his colleagues to go back and reconsider the judicial reform bill, which had been rejected.
The bill is entitled, “The Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution Provision Amendment Bill, 1999 to Further Strengthen the Judiciary for the Timely Dispensing of Justice; and for Related Matters.”
The bill seeks to strengthen the Judiciary for the timely delivery of justice.
While seven senators voted for the amendment, 76 voted against it. One senator abstained.
However, some of the senators, including Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) and Abdullahi Adamu (APC, Nasarawa West) strongly opposed the vice president’s suggestion.
Ndume reminded the Senate that the world was watching the proceedings and that it would be inappropriate to go back and change what had been done.
“We are human beings, we make mistakes. We can’t do something and just go back and change it again.
“This is the Constitution. It will be modified in the next four or two years. So, we can get it right,” he said.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan also called on lawmakers who were “unhappy” with the outcome of the vote to wait to amend the constitution again.
Lawan said details of the votes and how they were done will be produced by the Senate secretary.