Lagos: The Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, has reaffirmed the National Assembly’s commitment to delivering people-centred and timely amendments to the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. Senator Barau urged lawmakers to work towards fulfilling the promise of transmitting the first set of amendments to State Houses of Assembly before the end of the year. He was speaking at the opening of a two-day joint retreat of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on the Review of the 1999 Constitution in Lagos, South West Nigeria.
According to Voice of Nigeria, the retreat was organised to enable members of the joint committees to review proposed amendments clause by clause. A total of 69 bills, 55 state creation requests, two boundary adjustments, and 278 local government creation requests are scheduled for consideration during the retreat.
Senator Barau, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir, noted that the process has been extensive and inclusive, spanning two years of consultations with constituents, critical stakeholders, institutions, civil society organisations, and interest groups through town hall meetings, interactive sessions, and public hearings. ‘It has been a long journey to bring together the Senate and House of Representatives’ Constitution Amendment proposals, which cut across several sections and address various subject matters.’
‘We have been in this process for the past two years, engaging stakeholders and synthesising their views, which has culminated in the 69 bills, 55 state creation requests, two boundary adjustments, and 278 local government creation requests before us today,’ he stated.
As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, Senator Barau emphasized that members are expected to resolve the issues and make recommendations to their colleagues in both chambers. ‘It is not going to be a simple task to achieve within two days, but I believe we can do it, especially as we have promised Nigerians that we will deliver the first set of amendments to the State Houses of Assembly before the end of this year.
‘I believe we can deliver on this promise if we approach the bills and issues with open minds. We represent constituents with diverse ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds, but the Constitution is the grundnorm for all Nigerians and must be treated with patriotism and nationalism,’ he added.
Senator Barau, who also serves as the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, urged lawmakers to focus on what best serves the interests of Nigerians and to avoid divisive or competitive debates. ‘We are seated here as one committee. There should be no ‘we’ and ‘them.’ We must be guided by the collective interest of Nigerians. I wish all of us fruitful deliberations and look forward to recommendations that will meet the approval threshold of Section 9 of the Constitution,’ he said.