The National Assembly has begun deliberations on far-reaching constitutional amendments that could see the creation of 55 new states and 278 additional local government areas across the country.
Special Adviser to the Deputy Senate President on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday.
The statement said Barau Jibrin, the Deputy Senate President, at the opening of a two-day joint retreat of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on the Review of the 1999 Constitution in Lagos, reaffirmed the legislature’s commitment to delivering
“people-centred and timely” amendments to the constitution.
Barau, who doubles as chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, urged lawmakers to work towards fulfilling their promise of transmitting the first set of amendments to the state Houses of Assembly before the end of the year.
“It has been a long journey to bring the Senate and the House of Representatives’ Constitution Amendment proposals that cut across several sections and deal with different subject matters.
“We have been in this process for the past two years, engaging our constituents, critical stakeholders, institutions, civil society organizations and interest groups in town hall meetings, interactive sessions and public hearings, harvesting and synthesizing views and perspectives which has ultimately culminated to what we have here today; 69 bills, 55 state creation requests, two boundary adjustments and 278 local government creation requests,” he said.
According to him, members are expected to resolve these issues and make recommendations to both chambers, expressing optimism that progress could be achieved within the two-day session.
“It is not going to be a simple task to achieve within two days, but I believe we can do it, especially as we have promised Nigerians that we will deliver the first set of amendments to the State Houses of Assembly before the end of this year,” he added.
While stressing the need for patriotism and unity in the review exercise, Barau urged participants to avoid divisive tendencies.