The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, has said that the National Assembly will transmit the first set of amendments to the 1999 Constitution to State Houses of Assembly before the end of this year.
This was contained in a statement signed by Ismail Mudashir, Special Adviser to the Deputy President of the Senate on Media and Publicity on Friday.
According to the statement, Barau revealed this while speaking at a two-day joint retreat of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on the Review of the 1999 Constitution held in Lagos.
Senator Barau said the legislature remains focused on fulfilling its promise to Nigerians by transmitting the first set of constitutional amendments to the State Houses of Assembly before the end of this year.
He said, “It has been a long journey to bring together the Senate and House of Representatives’ amendment proposals that touch several sections and deal with different subject matters. We have been in this process for the past two years, engaging our constituents, critical stakeholders, civil society organisations, and institutions in town hall meetings and public hearings.”
The retreat, according to him, was organised to allow lawmakers to review the proposed amendments clause-by-clause and make final recommendations to their colleagues in both chambers.
Senator Barau, who also serves as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review and First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, revealed that the committees will consider 69 bills, 55 state creation requests, two boundary adjustments, and 278 local government creation requests during the retreat.
He noted that while the task ahead was huge, the lawmakers must approach it with unity and a sense of national responsibility.
“It is not going to be a simple task to achieve within two days,” he said.
“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.”
Barau also reminded lawmakers that they represent diverse groups with different ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds, but must prioritise what unites the country above personal or partisan interests.
“I acknowledge we represent constituents with diverse ethnic, religious, and socio-economic cleavages through different political platforms,” he said.
“But the Constitution is the grundnorm of our nationhood, one we must approach with patriotism and nationalism as our higher goals.”
He further urged members of the joint committee to deliberate with open minds and focus on what best serves the citizens.
“We are seated here as one committee. There should be no ‘we’ and ‘them’. We should be guided by the interests of Nigerians,” the Deputy Senate President added.