Senate Begins Move to Review Nigeria's Constitution, Constitutes 45-member Panel
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The Senate yesterday constituted a 45-member committee to review and amend the 1999 Constitution, with Senate President, Godswill Akpabio announcing the composition of the committee during the plenary.
Akpabio said the committee will be chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin while the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele would be the deputy chairman.
The senate president explained that the 1999 constitution needs a review because it contains many issues that need to be "put right."
He also highlighted the introduction of Artificial Intelligence as a major factor for the need to amend the constitution.
Akpabio said: "There is a need for us to touch some aspects of the constitution to bring them inline with current relatives particularly with the era of artificial intelligence and some of the things we have observed that need to be put right," Akpabio said.
The senate president also directed that all Speakers of the State House of Assemblies should be invited to the National Assembly for interaction as part of the constitution amendment process.
"The deputy senate president, you also invite speakers of all state houses of assemblies for interaction with the senate president before we go into the major issues of presenting the different memos" he added.
The senate president explained that lawmakers who constitute the constitution amendment committee were selected from all states and geo-political zones.
He also claimed that members of the committee are from all political parties in the senate.
He said: "It is all political parties and all senatorial districts, all zones are taken care of. We are taking one senator per state because we are talking about the constitution amendment. One senator per state and then we are also taking one senator representing each geopolitical zone .
"So, in case you noticed two senators from one state, that would mean that one of them represents the zone, while there's one senator from that zone representing that state."
The senate president noted that the constitution amendment committee will be inaugurated next Tuesday and they will commence the review process immediately.
"The committee will be inaugurated on Tuesday, so that they can start functioning immediately.
"All the motions and resolutions pertaining to constitution amendment that have been brought to the senate since last year will now be channelled straight to that committee," he added.
Apart from Barau and Bamidele, other members of the constitution amendment committee are: Deputy Senate Leader, Oyelola Ashiru; Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume; Deputy Whip , Nwebonyi Onyeka; Minority Leader, Abba Moro; Minority Whip, Osita Ngwu; Deputy Minority Leader, Oyewunmi Olalere, and the Minority Whip Sani Hangar.
Others are Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe, Binus Dauda Yaroe, Bassey Akpan, Ifeanyi Ubah, Abdul Ningi, Seriake Dickson, Agom Jarigbe, Ned Nwoko, Adams Oshiomhole, Danjuma Goje, Osita Izunaso, Abdulhamid Ahmed and Khalid Mustapha.