How Speaker Dogara Helped To Quietly Push Sharia Bill Through Second Reading.

A member of the House of Representatives criticised over a controversial pro-Sharia bill which he sponsored, has said he was advised by the speaker, Yakubu Dogara, to quietly speed the bill through a second reading to avoid controversy.

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES Thursday, Abdullahi Salame, representing Gwadabawa/Illela federal constituency, Sokoto State, said Mr. Dogara recognised that the bill could draw public outrage, and urged him not to “make noise” about the bill.

“I wrote the bill. I presented it. It was in the gazette. It went through first reading and second reading. So, the Speaker, in his wisdom — you know there are some issues that is not necessary to publicly discuss them or deliberate on them to avoid problems– asked me not to make noise about it,” Mr. Salame told PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr. Salame was widely criticised on social media on Wednesday, after it became clear that his bill, which seeks to amend the Constitution to give more powers to the Sharia Court of Appeal, had quietly passed the second reading last week Thursday.

Mr. Salame said the Speaker directed him to quietly work the bill through second reading for it to be sent to the Constitution Amendment Committee for consideration.

“The Speaker considers this bill one of the bills that do not require much argument. Because many people could misunderstand it. At the committee, they will see the nitty-gritty of the bill. So it was the Speaker that did not allow us to publicly debate on it and he advised that we refer it to the constitutional amendment committee,” Mr. Salame said.

The speaker, Mr. Dogara, is a Christian.
When reached for comment, Mr. Dogara’s media office did not confirm nor deny Mr. Salame’s claims, pointing instead to a statement issued by a spokesman for the House about the nature of the bill and how the legislative body handled its presentation.
Read the full response below:

The Bill came up on the floor and was automatically referred to the ad-hoc committee on constitution review.
There was no debate on it either for or against because the House is a democratic representatives chamber of the Nigerian people
Even if five people only have an issue with any section of the Constitution, the House will give it a listening ear.
The ad-hoc committee on Constitution review has one member per state and women and other representation.
The precedence is that it is in this committee that these kind of matters are thrashed out.

Any bill that has potentials to divide the country on religious or tribal lines or to reopen settled constitutional issues will most likely fail in the committee.
It should be noted that constitutional review bills are special bills that undergo many stages unlike an ordinary bill.
These include committee stage, plenary stage for voting by 2/3rd of the House, 2/3rd of all the state Houses of Assembly before it comes back again to the National Assembly for voting again and finally it must receive presidential assent.
We are still at a very early stage in the process and Nigerians should not worry about bills of this nature as the House has shown over the years to be the protector of Nigerians’ national unity and interest.
Signed:
Hon. Jonathan Gaza Gbefwi
Deputy Chairman
Houss Committee on Media and Publicity.

Dreal11247:
THIS COUNTRY SHOULD BE DIVIDED.
A Redeemed Christian Church Of God pastor made it clear that the Muslims were plotting to over the country with the support of the Christians. The Church dissociated herself from that statement. They used Osibanjo, a Redeemed pastor to campaign and won the election. Immediately they won . the election, he was reduced to a mere commissioner. Kaduna State Governor, who is already Islamizing his state was then acting as the VP.




LET THE COUNTRY BE DIVIDED.

blackpanda:



Distorted facts. What will u gain by division?? Will it reduce pump price of fuel Or create employment

nnachukz:
Their foot soldiers are out there killing everyone in order to instill fear in the of herdsmen while their elite in the NASS are busy putting it into law. Our mumu senators and Reps from South dey there dey wait for time to share money.

Dreal11247:
THIS COUNTRY SHOULD BE DIVIDED.
A Redeemed Christian Church Of God pastor made it clear that the Muslims were plotting to over the country with the support of the Christians. The Church dissociated herself from that statement. They used Osibanjo, a Redeemed pastor to campaign and won the election. Immediately they won . the election, he was reduced to a mere commissioner. Kaduna State Governor, who is already Islamizing his state was then acting as the VP.




LET THE COUNTRY BE DIVIDED.

Tex42:
Fayose talk'm o

Oche211:
Una too dey fear. Sharia law no fit work for Nigeria. Patapata, we divide d country make everyone go their own way. No shaking
Bt wait oo, some mumu senators 4rm d south nd christian North will just sit during plenary sleeping while dis bill was rushed through 2nd reading.

Candyrain:


And what's the gain of this unholy union where we are on each other's neck and have no trust for one another?

blackpanda:


So is disunity and division the answer? There is no part of nigeria that is homogenous. Even the south east dont all have the same historical background or tradition.

The point is that trust is earned. There is no magic button u press to make everything perfect. Even if u divide the nation, the same people that have been looting and rulibg will keep doing that. U dont fix a problem by creating another problem

amsad19:
sometimes I used to wonder is there no Muslims in southern part of the country? it really pains to see people rushing to conclusion without even knowing what they are discussing about. There is sharia law in all our universities. In the north and some parts of yoruba land , there are cases that the constitutional courts cannot provide justice. So giving sharia courts powwer doesn't mean Islamising naija.

dridowu:
What did he say ? Islamization of Nigeria ? Ok, the last time i chech most of the Reps members from Ekiti are PDP/Christian, what were they doing when the bill was been passed ? Thinking of "Stomach Infrastructure" since that is the only project they do in Ekiti. They all forgot their primary aim in the House.

blackpanda:


So is disunity and division the answer? There is no part of nigeria that is homogenous. Even the south east dont all have the same historical background or tradition.

The point is that trust is earned. There is no magic button u press to make everything perfect. Even if u divide the nation, the same people that have been looting and rulibg will keep doing that. U dont fix a problem by creating another problem