Constitution Amendment: Reps panel sets up seven subcommittees, names members

The House of Representatives Constitution Review Committee (CRC) has set up seven subcommittees to manage the review.

The subcommittees, comprising lawmakers and consultants, are responsible for overseeing the various thematic areas into which the constitution has been divided.

Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the CRC, Ben Kalu, announced the division of the constitution into seven thematic areas during the committee’s meeting on Tuesday.

The areas are local government matters, the judiciary, electoral matters, security architecture, gender issues, devolution of power, and human rights.

The subcommittees are to work on bills related to their thematic areas and submit reports to the main committee for consideration.

Local government reforms/autonomy

For local government affairs, the National Assembly seeks to amend the constitution to guarantee local government autonomy in line with a Supreme Court ruling. The ruling ordered the direct payment of funds to local governments despite Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, which created the joint account.

This subcommittee is chaired by the Majority Leader of the House, Julius Ihonvbere, with Nuhu Jamo serving as the consultant to the committee.

Other members of the committee include Onwuzibe Obinna, Aliyu Boya, Jimbo Clement, Ibrahim Kabir, Abeji Joseph, Raheem Olawuyi, and Ahmed Idris.

Judiciary

The subcommittee on the judiciary is chaired by the Chief Whip, Bello Kumo, with Mamman Osuman and Seni Adio, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), serving as consultants.

Other members are Ogene Afamefuna, Manu Zoro, Fredrick Agbedi, Babajimi Benson, Gaza Jonathan, Mamudu Abdullahi, and Sada Soli.

The deputy speaker also announced that the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, is ready to collaborate with the committee on the ongoing constitutional amendments.

Electoral matters

The subcommittee is chaired by the Deputy Majority Leader, Ali Ibrahim, with Samson Osagie, a former member of the House, and Mohammed Abubakar (SAN) serving as consultants.

Other members of the committee are Tarkighir Dickson, Aliyu Betara, Ofionu Odey Ekpo, Olumide Osoba, Adegboyega Adefarati, Oluwole Oke, and James Faleke.

Nigeria’s electoral matters are governed by both the Constitution and the Electoral Act. Following the recent Supreme Court verdict, there has been a strong call for local government elections to be transferred to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Currently, local government elections are conducted by State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), but most of these elections have been marred by credibility issues.

Reps at plenary (PHOTO CREDIT: @Speaker_Abbas

Security architecture

This subcommittee is tasked with reviewing the state police bill and other security-related provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

The committee is chaired by the Minority Whip, Ali Isa, with Usman Ibrahim and Zuki Odabi serving as consultants.

Other members of the committee include Julius Pondi, Chinedu Ogah, Peter Akpatason, Olayide Stanley, Ajang Iliya, Bob Solomon, and Iduma Igariwey.

Gender issues

This subcommittee is chaired by the Deputy Whip of the House, Oriyomi Onanuga, and will be assisted by Taiye Simbine and Ladi Hamalai as consultants.

Other members of the committee are Akin Rotimi, Mohammed Audu, Fatima Talba, Zainab Gimba, Miriam Onuoha, Regina Akume, and Kafilat Ogbara.

This subcommittee will revisit some of the gender bills that were rejected in the last Assembly.

The five bills include a bill to expand the scope of citizenship by registration, a bill to provide for affirmative action for women in political party administration, and a bill to establish criteria for becoming an indigene of a state in Nigeria.

Other rejected bills provide for special seats for women in the National and State Houses of Assembly, and another allocates a quota of ministerial and commissionership seats to women in federal and state executive councils.

These bills were rejected during clause-by-clause consideration, as an overwhelming majority in both the House and Senate opposed them, leading to protests by women’s groups who barricaded the National Assembly complex for days.

Mr Kalu announced that the House will hold an international legislative dialogue on women on 28 October, with zonal public hearings scheduled for January.

Devolution of power

In the last Assembly, three items on the exclusive legislative list were successfully moved to the concurrent list: electricity, railways, and correctional facilities.

This subcommittee, chaired by the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda is tasked with reviewing the remaining 65 items on the exclusive list.

Other members of the committee are Deputy Minority Leader Aliyu Madaki, Paul Shehu, Amadi Etinose, Abubakar Fulata, Kabir Amadu, Mohammed Hassan, and Francis Waive.

The consultant for the subcommittee is Yusuf Mohammed.

Human rights

This subcommittee is chaired by the Deputy Minority Whip, Ibezimako Ozodinobi, with Chris Uche (SAN) serving as the consultant.

Other members of the committee are Amos Magaji, Yusuf Rabiu, Mohammed Abubakar, Sunday Omehia, Ajiya Abdulrahaman, and Abdussamad Dasuki.

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Engage others

Mr Kalu also announced that the CRC will engage with the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures, the chairmen of the 18 political parties, civil society organisations, and others, as part of the activities for the ongoing review.