House of Representatives to Engage Key Stakeholders in Constitutional Review Process

The House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review has said it would engage some critical stakeholders in the Nigerian project as part of activities for the ongoing review.

The stakeholders include the Nigerian Governors Forum, Nigeria Guild of Editors, Conference of Speakers of State Legislature, Chairmen of the 18 Political Parties, and the Civil Society Organisations, amongst others.

Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, who made this disclosure during the committee’s meeting said the House would hold an international legislative dialogue on women on October 28 and zonal public hearings in January.

Kalu, however, assured the people that the committee was on track to deliver to Nigerians, a new Constitution by December, 2025 and that the essence of the engagements was to get the input of various stakeholders and brief them on what the committee was doing.

He noted that the Committee, in carrying out most of its assignments, would be broken down into subcommittees, which would not be exhaustive as additional members would be included later on to ensure that everyone was carried along.

Kalu assured the people that clear actionable recommendations from the women summit would be taken forward in the constitutional alteration exercise and that the summit would help in building of political will and elicit commitments from political leaders and stakeholders.

Meanwhile, former governors of Akwa Ibom and Ogun States, Obong Victor Attah and Chief Segun Osoba, have lamented that the 1999 Constitution has been a major hindrance to good governance in Nigeria.

Attah and Osoba stated this in their separate speeches at the 2024 National Conference of the Forum of Former Deputy Governors of Nigeria (FFDGN) held in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The former governor of Akwa Ibom State, while delivering his keynote address at the event, criticised the 1999 Constitution.

Attah, who is also the chairman of the occasion, said the nation’s constitution, carried over structural flaws from the military regime that undermined Nigeria’s federalism

“The defilement of federalism has been the biggest drawback to good governance, inclusiveness, and development,” he said and called for a critical reassessment of the nation’s governance structure.

He contended that, “That defilement was carried over into the 1999 constitution and that, by destroying the foundation of federalism on which the country was built, has in my honest opinion remained our biggest drawback to good governance, accountability, inclusiveness, productivity and development.

Osoba, who aligned his thoughts with Attah’s, stressed the importance of food security, and emphasised that a self-sufficient nation was a powerful one.

He praised the forum for its dedication to national development, crossing party lines to focus on the future of Nigeria.

Sunday Aborisade and Juliet Akoje

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