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Enioluwa Adeniyi
Guest
Governors under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), on Wednesday, conveyed at the Forum’s secretariat in Abuja.
In a communique signed by the Kwara State governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq, at the end of their meeting, the governors resolved to actively engage in the ongoing constitution amendment process with a view to strengthening the country’s legal framework.
The communique also outlined their discussions with the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, during the meeting on how to strengthen the constitutional review process.
The communique reads, “The Deputy Speaker emphasised the importance of collaboration between the Forum and the Committee, proposing the establishment of a “one-stop shop” framework to align state-level priorities with the constitutional review process.
“Governors pledged their support for the initiative and reaffirmed their commitment to actively engage in shaping amendments that strengthen Nigeria’s constitution.”
The governors also resolved to strengthen collaboration between federal and state governments, improve the quality of girl-child education and integrate vocational training among others in the country.
On the issue of the new terror group known as Lakurawa, which has killed many innocent Nigerians in Kebbi, Sokoto and other states in the North West, Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani, who read the communique said, “We all face various security challenges, but we are working closely with the relevant security agencies. We are very confident that it is a matter of time. All these issues will be over.”
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, after the meeting, disclosed that the National Assembly is considering amendments to 161 areas of the 1999 Constitution as part of its ongoing review process.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday after a closed-door session with governors from the 36 states of the federation in Abuja, Kalu emphasized the importance of including governors in the process, describing them as critical stakeholders.
The meeting, which began on Wednesday night, extended into the early hours of Thursday.
The 10th National Assembly has launched a comprehensive constitution amendment initiative that is expected to be completed by December 2025.
The review will address significant issues such as state police, electoral reforms, local government autonomy, diaspora voting, the autonomy of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), pre- and post-election disputes, and judicial rulings on electoral matters.
Kalu, who chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review, stated that the governors have expressed their support for the initiative and readiness to facilitate public hearings across the states.
“We informed them that we have received over 161 areas to amend in the constitution and we are going to give them the breakdown in the coming engagements. This won’t be the first and last engagement. We are going to have a couple of engagements. This is how we want to do it, differently from how it has been done,” he said.
On tax reforms, Kalu said, “To be fair to the governors, they did not dwell on tax reforms. It was generally about the constitution. they spoke on the local government reforms, what we are looking at. We are also not emphatic about state police.”
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