The House of Representatives has assured Nigerians of inclusive engagement and free participation in the ongoing constitution review process.
The deputy spokesperson of the House, Honourable Philip Agbese, who gave the assurance while fielding questions from journalists in his office on Friday, said the Benjamin Okezie Kalu-led Committee was determined to accommodate all interests in making sure the exercise is holistic and meets the test of time.
The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, had on Monday, 26th February, 2024, inaugurated the Constitution Review Committee made up of eminently qualified members of the green chamber drawn from the 36 States of the Federation with special consideration for female parliamentarians.
The Committee, according to the Chairman, who is also the Deputy Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu is expected to round off its activities in December 2025.
Agbese, who was recently named the spokesperson of the House Committee on Constitution Review, said the nation would be grateful to the 10th House at the end of the committee’s assignment. He said the amended version would address many agitations, yearnings, and aspirations of the generality of the people of Nigeria.
“We are going to carry everyone along. Aside from receiving memoranda from organisations, agencies of government, individuals, and various interest groups, another jurisdiction of this committee would be to create a forum for relevant stakeholders and members of the public to make their inputs to the constitution review process. This shall be done through public hearings and continuous citizen engagement across the board.
“We shall also build a robust and collaborative relationship with the Nigerian Senate and the 36 States Houses of Assembly, whose resolutions are part of the legislative journey to the reviewed document. This is to reduce or totally eradicate the usual bottleneck or noncompliance that characterised other constitution review exercises in the past.
“Also, in this course, we shall be liaising with relevant government agencies, both the executive and judicial bodies, state governments, women groups, academics, civil society organisations, labour unions, professional bodies, ethnic nationalities, Nigerians in the Diaspora, diplomats, and the general public in receiving memoranda and getting them involved in making necessary inputs while the process lasts.
“With the array of stakeholders we have enumerated and how the Chairman is coordinating the process, I’m sure there won’t be any section or interest that would be left out at the end of the day,” Agbese said.
According to Agbese, the thematic areas that the Committee intends to cover include Federal Structure and Power Devolution; Local Government/Local Government Autonomy; Public Revenue, Fiscal Federation, and Revenue Allocation; Nigerian Police and Nigerian Security Architecture, with special attention to the State Police; Comprehensive Judicial Reforms; Electoral Reforms to strengthen INEC to deliver transparent, credible, free, and fair elections; and socio-economic and cultural roles for the traditional institutions.
Other areas include gender issues; strengthening the independence of institutions and agencies created by the constitution or pursuant to an Act of the National Assembly; residency and indigene provisions; immunity; the National Assembly; the process of state creation; and state access to mining, among others.
The lawmaker also assured that the committee would be working assiduously to ensure that the target of delivery within 24 months is achieved. He said the chairman (deputy speaker) is an experienced lawmaker and a pan-Nigerian who is poised to deliver a durable, workable, and all-inclusive document to Nigerians as a constitution.
