The House of Representatives Committee on Treaties, Protocols, and Agreements and the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, NIALS, have agreed to reduce the powers of the President to enact and ratify Local and International Treaties, Protocols and Agreements.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the agreement was reached at a Public Hearing organised by the House Committee on Treaties, Protocols, and Agreement on a bill to Repeal Treaties Making Procedure 2004 and Enact Treaties Making Procedure 2020.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the amendment being undertaken is to make Nigeria’s treaties and agreements making procedures compliant with the provision of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
Represented by Nasiru Zango-Daura, the Speaker said that the committee hearing is an opportunity to rewrite history by making the treaties and agreements making the procedure more transparent in line with global best practices.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Committee, Ossai Nicholas, said the Treaties Making Procedure Act was a 1993 promulgation of the Military that essentially encourages the exercise of Executive fiat on Treaties.
Ossai explained that Nigeria is a state party to over 400 International Treaties, Protocols, and Agreements for which over 95 percent of them have not been operationalized into becoming part of the country’s laws.
While lauding the Legislative intervention, he lamented the loss of huge benefits derivable from some of such instruments after many public resources had gone into the negotiation and adoption of such Treaties.
The essence of the hearing according to him is to bring a level of harmony among the three Arms of Government in the process of treaty-making and ratification.
Moreover, the Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Tawfik Ladan said the powers of the government to enter into and ratify treaties and agreements are vested solely in the National Assembly.
Represented by Peter Akper, a Director of Research in NIALS, also said what should be done is not to subject the treaty-making powers of the Government.
He added that the apex legislative institution should clearly mark the distinction between the domestication of the treaty and its ratification.
He also stressed that it is the National Assembly that has Powers to make Laws. He pointed out that what the Amendment Bill has done is to abolish the powers of the executive arm of government in making treaties and agreements.
Other invited speakers including the Nigeria Law Reform Commission and the Ministry of Justice all agreed that the 1999 Constitution has an elaborate provision that provides that all treaties shall be enacted into law by the National Assembly.
