The 36 state governors have vowed to uphold the 1999 Constitution, as has Benjamin Kalu, the chairman of the Committee on the Review of the Constitution and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review said Tuesday that it will consult with a number of organizations, including the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, the Nigeria Guild of Editors, the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures, the chairmen of the 18 political parties, and civil society organizations, in order to obtain more input for amending the 1999 Constitution.
Following the NGF’s meeting with Kalu’s Committee in Abuja early on Thursday morning, Senator Uba Sani, the governor of Kaduna State, told reporters that the meeting covered other urgent concerns impacting Nigeria in addition to constitutional challenges.
He said that during its meeting with Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, the forum, which was chaired by AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the governor of Kwara State, emphasized the value of using data and technology to enhance education administration systems.
“The Forum hosted Benjamin Okezie Kalu, the Chairman of the Committee on the Review of the Constitution and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who gave governors an update on the current constitutional amendment process,” he continued.
By suggesting the creation of a “one-stop shop” framework to match state-level priorities with the constitutional review procedure, the Deputy Speaker emphasized the value of cooperation between the forum and the committee. The governors restated their resolve to actively participate in creating revisions that reinforced Nigeria’s constitution and promised their support for the endeavor.
“The roundtable discussed ways to realign Nigeria’s educational system for better results with the Minister of Education. In his assessment of the issues, the minister mentioned the high rates of learning poverty, especially in the North-East and North-West areas, and out-of-school children.
Strengthening cooperation between the federal and state governments, enhancing the standard of education for girls, incorporating vocational training, and utilizing data and technology to improve education administration systems are some of the main recommendations that were explored. In order to address these issues and coordinate efforts in order to achieve SDG4, governors reaffirmed their commitment to working with the federal government and development partners.
The Chairman of the Committee on the Review of the Constitution and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives revealed to media following the meeting that the Tax Bill was not brought up.
Majority Leader Julius Ihonvbere, Deputy Majority Leader Abdullahi Ibrahim Halims, Deputy Majority Leader Sada Soli, and others joined Kalu in saying that disregarding the governors will impede the constitutional review’s progress.
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We’ve had a lively conversation, and I have to admit that the governors contributed significantly and are in favor of the constitutional review,” he said.
Additionally, we told them that we would be traveling to their states and geopolitical zones to influence public opinion in their respective locations on the constitutional themes we are examining.
“We informed them that in the upcoming engagement, we will provide a breakdown of all the 161 areas for constitutional amendment that we have received.”
The Deputy Speaker said that it would be simpler for the Houses of Assembly to carry out their duties with regard to the constitutional provisions and their part in voting on them if there was a liaison desk between the National Assembly and the NGF.
In response to a query concerning the Tax Bill, he clarified that the governors were open to discussing every aspect of the Constitution.
“They only told us that it is before Parliament, which will critically review it and align it with the wishes of the people we represent,” he continued, adding that they were not very interested on tax reform.
