By Patrick Wemambu
From the nooks and crannies of Nigeria, eminent citizens gathered in the designated geopolitical zones of the nation for public hearings on the proposed review of the 1999 Constitution. Several organizations, including youths, students and women’s groups, made presentations at the various public hearings by the Senate 4th – 5th July.
Whereas Enugu served as S’East host, Ikot Ekpene was centre for the S’South. Jos doubled as venue for the N’Central with Maiduguri anchoring activities for the N’East. Regrettably, the N’West zonal hearing with Kano State as host had to be postponed to honour the late business tycoon and elder statesman, Alhaji Aminu Dantata. Latest news, however, indicates it has been rescheduled to hold 18 – 19 July. Same venue.
Laudable as the initiative appears, the zonal public hearings have elicited grave concerns from a few quarters. For instance, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) cautioned the parliamentarians against removal of labour provisions from the Exclusive List.
Urging the National Assembly not to heed calls to remove labour provisions from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List in the ongoing review – the NLC warned of the possible dire consequences of such action.
Lagos State NLC Chairman, Mrs. Funmi Sessi, made the call last Saturday while making the union’s presentation at the Senate’s South-West Zonal Public Hearing on the Review of the 1999 Constitution in Lagos.
Making a case for electoral reforms, the labour leader called for a holistic and genuine implementation of the late Justice Uwais-led Electoral Reform Committee to address challenges of recent elections.
Commenting further, Sessi recommended establishment of what she called the Electoral Offences Commission to serve as a clear warning to anti-progressive and anti-democratic forces in the political space.
The labour leader also advocated unbundling INEC into specialized agencies to deal with the recurring pre-election and post-election challenges.
Sessi said the rejig of the electoral system could be achieved through institutionalization of what she called proportional representation (PR) and incremental substitution of the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) electoral system.
She also called for full adoption of electronic and diaspora voting. On socio-economic, cultural, and political issues, she said that NLC believes that it is important for Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution to be made justiciable.
Reiterating the need to address issues concerning the federal structure and power devolution, pensions, local government and judicial autonomy, amongst others – Sessi also demanded human rights and access to justice, repositioning of police, and state creation.
Casting aspersions on the current constitutional framework in Nigeria which he described as warped, a member of the 1999 Constitution Review Committee and senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Senator Victor Umeh, has attributed the persistent marginalization of the S’ East geopolitical zone to military-era decisions embedded in Nigeria’s current constitutional framework.
Umeh made the remarks during an engagement with the Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, where he stressed the urgent need for constitutional amendments.
He called for the creation of more states in the Southeast region, pointing out that the number of states and local governments is a critical factor in federal resource distribution, civil service recruitment, and ministerial appointments.
He further lamented the difficulty in amending the constitution to address these imbalances, describing the process as ‘herculean,’ but expressed hope that the rest of the country would support a fair and equitable solution.
According to the senator, the Southeast remains the most under-represented zone in Nigeria with only five states and 95 local government areas (LGAs) out of a national total of 774.
Advocating the decentralization of the Nigerian Police Force, Umeh reiterated his support for the creation of state police as a practical response to worsening insecurity across the country. Despite skepticism over the effectiveness of piecemeal amendments, the lawmaker maintained that efforts must continue to push for constitutional justice.
At the N’ East public hearing, creation of new states and local government areas (LGAs) topped proposals from agitators in the region.
Speaking at the opening of the two-day zonal public hearing in Maiduguri last Friday, Sen. Jibrin Barau, the Deputy Senate President, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review (CRC), expressed satisfaction with the turn-out of people at the hearing.
Barau, who was represented by Sen. Tahir Monguno, the Senate Chief Whip, assured the people of the region of Senate’s commitment to protect the interest of every individual and group seeking for any amendment without bias.
Declaring the hearing open, Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno, who was represented by his Deputy, Alhaji Umar Kadafur, commended the National Assembly’s leadership for creating the opportunity for voiceless Nigerians to be heard.
Similarly, the speakers of the state assemblies in the six states of the North-East represented by the Speaker of Borno Assembly, Abdulkarim Lawan, canvassed for their autonomy to ensure effective legislative procedures.
In his presentation, Shehu of Borno, Dr Abubakar El-kanemi, emphasized the need for a defined role for traditional institutions in the constitutional review.
On his part, the erstwhile Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, who led the movement agitating for the creation of Katagum State out of Bauchi State, canvassed for electoral reforms.
As a way of rounding off, it is worth noting that the National Assembly has altered the country’s grundnorm five times since 1999 though some items proposed for amendment were defeated at the state legislatures.
Current Review that is ongoing focuses on critical areas like Governance and power, Electoral and Judicial Reforms, Human Rights and Social Justice. Others are Institutional Reforms. The review process which actually started in February 2024 is expected to be concluded by 2026 with the final draft to be sent to State Houses of Assembly for ratification before the end of 2025.
Needless to stress that huge sums have also been expended on the exercise in question with the federal legislature budgeting separately for it.
The current review exercise, chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, began with a retreat in Kano and proceeded to hold simultaneous zonal public hearings in each of the six geopolitical zones, which has ended.
Just as many Nigerians have criticized some provisions of the 1999 Constitution, which has been in use since the country’s return to democratic rule – suffice it to say the criticisms have come in the light of the rapid technological, social, and political developments in Nigeria.
Happily enough, with the public hearings in the 5 geopolitical zones now concluded, the Senate Committee on Constitution Review will do well to consolidate its feedback into a harmonized report.
Remarkably, the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution says it has heard Nigerians loud and clear after its public hearings on the review of the 1999 constitution and will take appropriate steps on all issues raised.
Sen. Jubrin Barau, the Deputy Senate President and Chairman of the Senate Constitution Review Committee, said this while speaking with newsmen at the close of the South West Public Hearing held in Ikeja, Lagos. According to him, the final draft of the ongoing constitutional amendment would be sent to the state Houses of Assembly for ratification before the end of 2025.
Earlier, he said the committee received 31 proposals for the creation of new states and 18 requests for the establishment of additional local government areas from various interest groups in the country.
Giving the breakdown of proposals for creation of new states, the high-ranking parliamentarian said there were six requests from the North-west, eight from North-central, five from South-east, six from North-east, six from South-south and four from South-west.
He also noted that some prominent Abuja indigenes submitted a request seeking recognition of the Federal Capital Territory as a state. For local government areas, the gathering was told that seven requests were received from the North-west, five from the North-central, one from the North-east, three from the South-south, one from the South-east and one from the South-west.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is set to commence its zonal public hearings in six centres of the three geopolitical zones in the North from Friday, 11th July to Sunday, 13th July 2025. And in six centres of the three geopolitical zones in the South from Friday, 18th to Sunday, 20th July, 2025.
What is the way forward for the ongoing constitution review process? Any lessons for the green chamber to learn from the experiences of the red chamber? How should criticisms regarding effectiveness of the programme and pitfalls witnessed across the different geopolitical zones be handled?
While navigating the complex regulatory landscape of submitted memoranda, there are potential slip-ups for the 10th NASS to look out for before the National Public Hearing slated for Monday, July 21, 2025.
These include the scheduling of polls in a day, special seats for women, independent candidacy, LG election commissions and State creation. Other booby traps are creation of state police, devolution of power, regional autonomy and resource control, among others.
It is instructive to reiterate that no empirical formula is additionally required to decipher that the review process is often seen as perpetuating the historical North-South divide – with debates frequently framed around the interests of different regions rather than the needs of the entire nation. Another potentiality of a landmine, if you asked me.
Will remarkable changes be witnessed in the programme this time around? One can only hope against all odds that the review process succeeds in addressing historical grievances and power imbalances to foster national unity and cohesion.
Ultimately, the favourable outcome of Nigeria’s 10th NASS constitution review process will hinge on its ability to address the aforementioned challenges, ensure genuine inclusivity, and deliver a document that reflects the aspirations of all Nigerians.
PATRICK WEMAMBU, is Deputy Editor (Politics), The Nigerian Pilot Newspaper. He can be reached through abujagrandeditor@gmail.com
