Constitution Review: National Assembly Rallies Governors, State Assemblies

The work on the review of the 1999 Constitution is nearing completion with the National Assembly Joint Committee handling the assignment set to brief all governors of the federation on Wednesday.

Also, Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review, Senator Barau Jibrin, has urged federal and state lawmakers to remain steadfast as the constitution amendment process enters its decisive stage.

This emerged at the last joint retreat of the House of Representatives and Senate Committees on Constitutional Review in Abuja on Monday.

LEADERSHIP reports that the House of Representatives has resolved to complete the activities for reviewing the 1999 Constitution by December 2025.

In his opening remarks at the joint retreat, Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, stated that it was the last of such events before voting on the constitutional alteration bills on the floor of the two legislative houses.

“Colleagues, let me be clear: this is the final retreat before the historic voting on the constitution alteration bills. After today, we move from deliberation to decision.

“We move from consultation to legislative action. We move from debate to delivery. History is watching us. The entire nation, over 200 million Nigerians, anticipate direction from this Assembly,” he said.

Kalu, who is also the chairman of House Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution emphasised that the Constitution National Assembly seeks to refine is the soul of “our Republic”, the expression of “our common destiny, the framework upon which the hopes and dreams of every Nigerian rest.”

Speaking on Monday at the joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Constitution Review with the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures in Abuja, Barau said the engagement was aimed at firming up positions earlier agreed upon and ensuring full collaboration with state assemblies before transmitting approved bills.

The meeting brought together members of the National Assembly, state assembly speakers and consultants working on the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution.

Barau recalled the committee’s previous meeting in Lagos, where members debated the amendment bills and agreed to reconvene for further consultations.

He commended lawmakers for their “commitment and dedication” to what he described as one of the most important legislative assignments before the 10th National Assembly.