Constitution Amendment: Reps C’ttee pledges extensive stakeholders’ consultation

The House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review has pledged intense stakeholders’ engagement in the ongoing Constitution amendment process.

The Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Benjamin Kalu made the pledge on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said those on the list included the Nigerian Governors Forum, Nigeria Guild of Editors, Conference of Speakers of State Legislature, Chairmen of the 18 Political Parties, Civil Society Organisations, amongst others.

The deputy speaker said that the committee will hold an international legislative dialogue on women on Oct.  28 and zonal public hearings in January.

“A clear actionable recommendations from the women summit holding next week will be taken forward in the constitutional alteration exercise.

“The summit will help in building of political will and eliciting of commitments from political leaders and stakeholders,” he said.

Kalu assured that the committee is on track to deliver to Nigerians, a new Constitution by December, 2025.

According to him, the essence of the engagements is to get the input of various stakeholders and brief them on what the committee is doing.

The chairman said that the committee will be broken down into subcommittees to ensure smooth and articulate implementation.

In 2018, five constitutional alterations took place while the second Amendment (2011) , Focused on issues related to local government elections and the establishment of the National Assembly.

The third Amendment (2018), Addressed various issues, including the administration of justice and the financial autonomy of local governments while the fourth Amendment (2022), Introduced changes aimed at improving the electoral process and enhancing the independence of the judiciary.