By John Austin Unachukwu
Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has urged the National Assembly to follow due process and conduct public hearing before passing the bill on hate speech.
Answering questions from journalists, Tambuwal said a public hearing on the bill will enable lawmakers aggregate the views of Nigerians.
He said: “I’m not sure I have heard any governor come out to say he is in support of the death penalty for hate speech.
“I believe that the National Assembly should hold a public hearing on that bill, so that due process of lawmaking is followed.
“This is so that the views of Nigerians, not just the governors, will be well captured on that bill and they (National Assembly) should respect the views of Nigerians in whatever may be the direction of debate and the eventual passage or otherwise of that bill.”
The Senate, had on Tuesday last week, introduced the hate speech bill, which among others, prescribed death by hanging as the maximum punishment for certain categories of offenders.
Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) National Publicity Secretary, Kunle Edun, had cautioned the Senate to “tread carefully” with the bill.
He had said, “We, therefore, strongly advise that the Senate should tread carefully on this bill.
“Section 39(3) of the Constitution makes it mandatory that no law can abrogate the rights of Nigerians to exercise their right to freedom of speech, except if such a law can be reasonably justified in a democratic society.
“Can a hate bill be reasonably justified in a democratic society?”
Meanwhile, reacting to the judgment of Sokoto Division of the Court of Appeal which affirmed his victory at the polls, Governor Tambuwal has called on members of the opposition to joined hands with him to run an all-inclusive government.
A release signed Special Adviser Media and Publicity to the Governor Muhammad Bello reads that: Tambuwal stated this shortly after the Court of Appeal sitting in Sokoto upheld his election as the duly elected governor of the state.
Read Also: Hate speech bill: respect views of Nigerians, Governors tell NASS
The release stated Justice Hussaini Muhtar, who read the lead judgement on behalf of three other members of the panel, dismissed the six grounds of appeals filed by the gubernatorial candidate of APC and upheld the judgement of the electoral petitions tribunal.
“The governor while dedicating his victory to God urged people of the state to intensify prayers for continuous peace and prosperity of the state.
He also appealed to the people of the state to join hands with him in the project of its continuous building.
The governor reminded the opposition that power belongs to God who gives it to whom he desires reminding them that “we have no other state but Sokoto, so the task of building it belongs to all of us.
He expressed gratitude to the people of the state for their support and sustained prayers for the success of his administration.
The governor also pledged the commitment of the state to the implementation of the minimum wage and improved welfare of workers.
“Various state governments have been engaging with their branches of the Nigeria Labour Congress, I’m sure it is a work in progress.
“Before December, all the states must have finished working out the details on the issue of the minimum wage across the federation.
“We are very much committed to the welfare and well-being of our workforce and therefore, we shall continue to ensure that we do our best on what needs to be done”, he said.
In a related development, governors of the states of the federation have expressed their readiness to conclude negotiations with labour unions on the implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage before the December 31 deadline.
The governors spoke at the end of their seventh meeting in Abuja, which was presided over by the Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF ), Governor Tambuwal.
At the meeting, the governors said they are committed to working with the Independent Verification Agent to ensure that the APA process did not experience delay.
The forum, among other resolutions, also expressed commitment to the initiative to advance value added activities in agriculture, access to finance and women economic development.
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