By Gabriel Udeh, Kaduna
The North West zonal public hearing of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 constitution has been scheduled for Wednesday in Kaduna state.
The two-day public hearing will be chaired by Senator Kabir Gaya, according state issued and made available to journalists on Monday in Kaduna.
The public hearing which will be hosted by Kaduna State Government, will be held at Hassan Katsina House and sittings will commence at 10am and end at 5pm daily from Wednesday to Thursday.
A statement issued by Special Adviser on Media and Communication to Governor Nasir El Rufai, said that contributions from civil society groups, professional associations, trade unions and other interested bodies from the North West states of Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states will be collated during the hearing.
According to media adviser Mr Muyiwa Adekeye, ‘’the public hearing will receive memoranda and contributions on 17 broad issues, including Gender Equity and Increased Participation of Women and Vulnerable groups in governance, the Federal Structure in governance and Power Devolution.’’
The Special Adviser also listed ‘’Local Government Administration and Local Government Autonomy, Public Revenue, Fiscal Federalism and Revenue Allocation, as well as Constitutional Provision for the Establishment of State Police.’’
The statement further said that the ‘’public hearing will deliberate on Judicial Reform, Electoral Reforms that will make INEC deliver transparent, credible, free and fair elections, Political parties, Independent candidature and election management. ‘’
Also slated for deliberation are Socio-economic rights as contained in Chapter II of the constitution, Residency and Indigeneship, Removal of immunity in prima facie criminal cases, timeline for the Assent of Bills and Passage of Appropriation Bill, Adekeye said.
Adekeye further said that the issue of State and Local Government creation, strengthening the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Auditor General of the Federation and Office of the Attorney General of the Federation will be discussed at the event.
‘’Federal Capital Territory Administration, the Legislature and Legislative Bureaucracy, Constitutional Roles for Traditional Rulers and any other issues that promote the unity and good governance of the nation will also be deliberated upon,’’ he added.
