The House of Representatives, Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, has disclosed that the National Assembly is considering amendments to 161 sections in the 1999 Constitution in the ongoing review.
Kalu made this disclosure after a closed-door session with the 36 State Governors on Wednesday night through Thursday early hours in Abuja.
Addressing journalists, the Deputy Speaker noted that the Governors are critical stakeholders in the amendment, hence, the need for their inputs.
The 10th National Assembly embarked on a Constitution amendment process which is billed to be completed in December 2025.
Among the contentious issues the Federal lawmakers are considering are issues of state police, electoral reform and local government autonomy. Also in the front burner are diaspora voting, autonomy of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and pre- and post-election concerns.
The Deputy Speaker, who is chairing the committee on Constitution Review at the House of Representatives stated that the Governors were in support of the initiative. He noted that the State Executive will be ready to welcome the National Assembly lawmakers when they start visiting various States for public hearing.
He said, “We informed them that we have received over 161 areas to amend in the Constitution. And that we are going to give them the breakdown in the coming engagements. This won’t be the first and last engagement. We are going to have a couple of engagements. This is how we want to do it, differently from how it has been done.”
Answering questions on tax reforms, the Deputy Speaker stated that the issue did not come up for discussion.
He said, “To be fair to the Governors, they did not dwell on tax reforms. It was generally about the Constitution. They spoke on the Local Government reforms, what we are looking at. We are also not emphatic about state police.”
However, the Governors stated their position on the Constitution amendment in a communique signed by the Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq.
It stated that the Governors at the end of their meeting, resolved to actively engaged in the ongoing Constitution amendment process. This is with a view to strengthening the country’s legal framework.
The communique reads in part, “The Governors emphasized the importance of collaboration between the Forum and the Committee. Proposing the establishment of a “one-stop shop” framework to align state-level priorities with the constitutional review process.
“Governors pledged their support for the initiative. And reaffirmed their commitment to actively engage in shaping amendments that strengthen Nigeria’s constitution.”
“Governors also resolved to strengthen collaboration between Federal and State Governments. And to improve the quality of girl- child education and integrate vocational training among others in the country.
The Forum also condemned the new terror group known as Lakurawa, which has killed many innocent Nigerians in Kebbi, Sokoto and other states in the North West.
Reading the communique, Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, expressed optimism on the ability of Nigeria overcoming the security challenges.
He said, “We all face various security challenge. But we are working closely with the relevant security agencies. We are very confident that it is a matter of time. All these issues will be over.”
source: Daily Trust
Follow us for more news on our WhatsApp News Channels @
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaC505jB4hdZ5Yx9g82U
