Aminu Tambuwal
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, on Wednesday said that the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution would answer several arising questions on the nature of Nigeria’s unity.
Tambuwal said this at the opening of a retreat for members of the House AdHoc Committee on Constitution Review in Abuja.
The committee, led by the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, organised the retreat to allow House members appraise the report of the People’s Public Sessions on the constitution and prepare them for the next stage of the review process.
The public sessions were held across the federation on November 10, 2012, where Nigerians voted on a 43-item template on different sections of the constitution they desired to amend.
Tambuwal acknowledged that Nigeria was facing many challenges, which had forced the citizens to ask questions on the nature of the country’s union and assured that the fears expressed by the people would be addressed by the new constitution.
He said, “As you well know, our country today faces many challenges and some of our people have been asking questions about the very nature of our union.
“We hope eventually to provide Nigerians with a constitution that will answer some of these questions and further cement our hard fought unity.”
The Speaker claimed that reactions from Nigerians since the House publicly tendered the report of the People’s Public Sessions on April 18 suggested that they had confidence in the National Assembly to do a thorough representation of their views in the constitution.
However, he warned the committee members against cutting corners or attempting to impose their own views on the people in the course of appraising the report.
“So far, you have all shown remarkable patriotism but I must again emphasise the need for your work to be free of all personal biases.
“You must work only on data provided by the nationwide public hearing and your conclusion should reflect the aggregate opinion of fellow Nigerians”, the speaker stated.
But the Deputy Speaker said, “The results of the Peoples Public Sessions as unveiled by the House would be subjected to proper legislative action as required by the Standing Orders of the House and by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.
“There are no short-cuts. This retreat will give members of the committee acting on behalf of the entire House the opportunity to brainstorm on the language of the amendments where consensus has been reached.
“It is pertinent to note that the National Assembly is one. For this process to work, the House and Senate Constitution Review Committees must work together to propose the same bills and vote on the same issues.
“The Senate and the House of Representatives must reach an agreement before any section of the constitution is amended. Indeed, two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly must agree as well.”
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