…as Speakers, Southwest Principal Officers Hold Retreat in Ekiti
By Precious Oham
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu on Friday emphasized the crucial role of Nigerians in the decision-making process of Nigeria’s constitution.
Hon. Kalu stated this at the Retreat for Speakers and Principal Officers of the State Houses of Assembly (South West Region) in Ekiti State, themed: “Strengthening Democratic Governance at Sub-National Level.”
He equally explained that the State legislatures play a crucial role in the ongoing constitution review process emphasizing the importance of collaboration between the Federal Legislature and State Assemblies.
Hon. Kalu, who is also the Chairman of Special Ad-hoc Committee on Constitution Review, highlighted the committee’s current work on 161 constitution amendment bills.
Hon. Kalu also said that the zonal public hearings are expected to kick off in January 2025, to gather regional inputs for constitution alteration bills.
He said: “You cannot amend the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without the involvement of the State legislature. They occupy a cardinal fundamental position in the structure of the amendment of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“This visit is to strengthen that relationship. We want them to participate from the onset of the making of the constitution. We are here to see the South-West caucus of the Houses of Assembly to intimate them on the processes and how far we have gone in our efforts to have a construction ready by December 2024.
“161 proposals have been gotten from the memorandum that we got from the public. Federalism or no federalism will be the decision of Nigerians based on the submissions made by them when we called for documents. Each State legislature will have a role to play on what becomes part of the constitution or what will not make part of the constitution.
“It is not our call to make, it is the decision of the people of Nigeria. We want the people of Nigeria to tell us what they want in the constitution and they have spoken. We are working with what they have said. There is no need to be afraid of whether their desires will be met or not, the entire process will be followed and all the desires of Nigerians will be met in the amendment of the constitution.”
In his address, Chairman, South-West Caucus, Speaker of State Assemblies, Rt. Hon. Aribasoye Adeoye said the program is to strengthen collaboration amongst the legislatures for effective representation in the legislative process.
“The current National Assembly have been very fair in ensuring that all stakeholders are carried along including the Houses of Assembly in Nigeria.
“What we are having is about peer review, capacity building, collaboration and it is to also come up with an actionable plan and for us to have good laws for our people. I strongly believe in this legislative arm and that is why I have given myself to capacity building.
“Having peer review, we will be able to understand what is happening in other States and it is about cross-fertilization of ideas. It is for in-depth knowledge for legislative framework to have good legal framework of whatever we are doing.”
Earlier, Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Habibat Adubiaro urged the participants to utilize the gains of the Retreat aimed at strethening legislative process in the region.
He noted that the retreat will foster regional integration and collaboration adding that the State governments in the region are working on several inter-governmental programs and peer review in the South-West region.