The House of Representatives is set to revisit some proposed alterations to the 1999 Constitution (as amended) either rejected by past parliaments, state Assemblies or not assented to by former Presidents.
The Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, disclosed this on Saturday while delivering his remarks at a joint retreat for the secretariats and consultants to the Senate and House Committees on the review of the constitution.
He called for synergy among the consultants to work together in the ongoing constitution review exercise.
In 2023, former President, Muhammadu Buhari rejected 19 bills passed by the parliament, including the fifth alteration bill number 24, which sought an Act to alter the Second Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to empower the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly to summon the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In a statement on Sunday by the Special Assistant on Press Affairs, Udora Orizu, the Deputy Speaker said, “This retreat will provide a platform for the secretariat and experts to review previous amendment proposals, especially those that were popular among Nigeria but were either not passed by the national/state Assemblies or were not assented to by the President. It would also consider how those issues can be re-introduced with a view to providing methods of processing them or an action plan that will ensure that reservations that led to their rejection are addressed.
“The essence of this retreat is to build synergy among the consultants and the secretariats of the Senate and House Committees on Constitution Review to set the pace for effective collaboration that will drive the task before us towards such outcomes that would meet and satisfy the desires and yearning of Nigerians, especially at a time like this.”
He reminded the consultants that Constitution alteration is a continuous process that must involve all Nigerians to empower the legislature to evolve a constitution that will address contentious issues, such as state police, special seats for women, among other issues.
He said, “As experts in your various fields of endeavour, I trust your judgments and I trust that the outcome of this exercise will move Nigeria forward.’’
“The constitution amendment exercise, which is coming at a time when there appear to be agitations in the country, is expected to create a veritable platform for national engagement and conversations where relevant stakeholders and members of the public may make recommendations on the review process with the view to enacting laws that reflect the evolving moral, economic and political values of the Nigerian people.”
The Kalu-led committee, having held its first retreat, is currently accepting memoranda from Nigerians on critical aspects of governance including restructuring, rotational presidency, local government autonomy, state police and mayoral status for the Federal Capital Territory, among others.
