The Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution will conduct public hearings on proposed amendments across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones from 4 to 5 July.
Chairman of the committee and Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, disclosed this in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir, in Abuja on Sunday.
Barau said the hearings would take place simultaneously in Lagos (South-West), Enugu (South-East), Ikot Ekpene (South-South), Jos (North-Central), Maiduguri (North-East), and Kano (North-West).
He explained that the purpose of the zonal hearings was to gather citizen input on proposed constitutional reforms, which cover a wide range of critical national issues, including local government autonomy, electoral and judicial reforms, state creation, state police, and inclusive governance.
One of the proposed bills, he said, seeks to formally recognise local government councils as a distinct tier of government with guaranteed democratic structures and tenure. A second bill proposes the establishment of an independent National Local Government Electoral Commission (NALGEC) to manage local council elections.
“Also to be considered during the zonal public hearings are two bills on security and policing for the establishment of state police and state security council to coordinate internal security policies at the sub-national level,” he said.
Barau added that six bills on fiscal reforms would also be reviewed, including one empowering the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission to enforce compliance in remitting and distributing revenue from the Federation Account.
Another fiscal bill proposes amendments to the constitution to mandate the President and state governors to present annual budgets within a specific timeframe.
He further stated that the committee would examine a bill providing for additional seats for women in both national and state legislatures, and another to establish National, State, and Local Government Councils of Traditional Rulers.
Also slated for discussion are proposals to amend the constitution to permit independent candidacy in elections and introduce diaspora voting for Nigerians abroad.
“The hearing will consider over 20 bills seeking to overhaul the country’s judiciary, including timelines for judgment delivery and expanded jurisdiction for election tribunals,” Barau said.
He noted that some proposals also aim to move items such as labour and shipping from the exclusive to the concurrent legislative list.
Barau added that the committee had received 31 proposals for state creation: five each from the South-West, South-South, and North-Central, seven from the North-East, six from the North-West, and three from the South-East.
(NAN)