The Deputy Speaker and Chairman Constitution Review Committee of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ben Kalu has said that the committee has set December, 2025 as the target time to conclude the constitutional review process.
He said it was the view of the Speaker, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas that the committee set a realistic timeline that does not conflict with electoral activities which would advertently or inadvertently affect the alteration process.
Kalu, who disclosed this Wednesday in Abuja at the pre-inaugural meeting of the committee revealed that the committee present has 40 bills that are at various stages of consideration which relate to the Alteration of the Constitution.
He said it would be the sixth time that the National Assembly has embarked on amendments to the Nigerian Constitution.
Kalu noted: “It is not out of place to guess that there is some level of fatigue in the Amendment process by some vocal sections of the populace. Whatever opinion you hold, it is important to let you know that we presently have 40 bills that are at various stages of consideration which relate to the Alteration of the Constitution.
“Secondly, we are well aware of our present challenging circumstances as a nation. The twin challenges of insecurity and economic difficulties could tamper with the confidence of our citizens. It is therefore our Constitutional responsibility to respond to the 40 bills so far proposed and also to attend to the duty of the government to ensure the security and welfare of the citizens as provided by the Constitution.”
Kalu noted that since 2010, the National Assembly has successfully amended and made landmark changes to the Constitution since it was first handed over to Nigeria in 1999 by the military regime of General Abdulsalam Abubakar.
He added that since then, some of the significant amendments successfully made by previous efforts included; judicial reforms, electoral reforms, age reduction, allowing younger persons to be appointed into the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as Chairman or Resident Electoral Commissioners, among others.
The Deputy Speaker stressed that the Committee was fully aware of the concerns of Nigerians on the need to finalise and conclude discussions around Nigeria’s Constitution.
According to him, I will like to state however that the nature of Nigeria’s Constitution and the history around how it was made and handed over to a new civilian government in 1999, makes it imperative for us to continually revisit the several provisions of the Constitution and work towards accomplishing consensus on outstanding constitutional debates.