…set to begin voting on 87 ammendment bills
Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, announced on Monday that the constitution review committees of the National Assembly will brief the 36 state governors on the final draft of proposed amendments to the 1999 Constitution Wednesday, ahead of the crucial voting stage.
Kalu, who also chairs the House Committee on Constitution amendment, said this while delivering his remarks at the second joint retreat of the House and Senate Committees on Constitutional Review in Abuja.
Kalu informed that voting on the 87 constitutional alteration bills would commence soon, noting that the retreat is the final stage of the review process.
“After today, we move from deliberation to decision. We move from consultation to legislative action. We move from debate to delivery,” Kalu said.
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The Deputy Speaker assured that the National Assembly would deliver a constitution that meets the expectations of Nigerians, highlighting critical areas of reform to include local government autonomy, fiscal federalism, state police, and electoral reforms.
“History is watching us. The entire nation, with over 200 million citizens, anticipates direction from this Assembly. Our people yearn for reforms that devolve power and bring governance closer to the grassroots; localise internal security through innovative approaches, such as state police; empower citizens through credible elections; ensure fiscal federalism and equitable resource distribution; protect the rights and dignity of every individual, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religion; and guarantee local government autonomy so that development reaches the most remote communities,” he said.
“The amendments we agree upon today will shape Nigeria’s democracy for generations to come”, he added.
Kalu urged Speakers of State Houses of Assembly to play their part in ensuring that every amendment passes through their legislatures, highlighting the constitutional requirement that two-thirds of states must ratify changes.
“The success or failure of this constitutional review will ultimately be determined not here in Abuja, but in the 36 state assemblies across the federation. You are the gatekeepers of constitutional reform. Together, we can build a Constitution that guarantees justice, equity and progress for every Nigerian, today and for generations to come,” he urged.
At the opening of the retreat, Barau Jibrin, the Deputy Senate President, reminded state assembly speakers that they now hold the critical power to determine whether the long-awaited amendments will stand or fall.
Jibrin, who chairs the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, said the retreat was not intended for fresh deliberations but to adopt positions already agreed upon in Lagos last month for onward transmission to state assemblies.
“Our meeting today will be less deliberative. The purpose is to approve positions reached previously. This is the final lap of this assignment. We must fulfil our promise to Nigerians, and the bills will be transmitted to the State Houses of Assembly this year,” Jibrin said.
He added that most contentious issues had already been resolved at the Lagos retreat, leaving only ratification and technical adjustments for the committees to conclude.
