The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, has appealed to the National and State Assembly members not to allow personal or sectional interest to override national interest.
Speaking at a retreat with the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures and Clerks of State Houses of Assembly held in Abuja on Friday, the Deputy Speaker, who is the chairman House Special Committee on Constitution Review, urged members to act as representatives of Nigerians and be guided by the legislative rules.
The Deputy Speaker reiterated the need for collaborative synergies, between the national and state legislators in promoting good governance and actualizing the dreams and aspirations of Nigerians who elected them into office.
He emphasized the need and importance of reviewing the Constitution, saying a vast majority of Nigerians consider the 1999 Constitution a product of military exigency and that the reference to ‘We the people’ in the Constitution does not truly represent them”, hence the need for a crucial review.
The Deputy Speaker disclosed that a total of 187 memoranda with 1, 908 specific recommendations were received by the committee from across the country.
“Between May and June of 2021, the Committee held public hearings across the Country’s Six (6) geopolitical zones. During the hearings, some of the issues canvassed by Nigerians were aggregated into thematic areas and members sponsored bills in line with peoples’ aspirations.
“These thematic areas include issues bothering on Local Government Administration and Autonomy, the Legislature, Judicial Reform, State Creation, State Police, Devolution of Powers, Women and Vulnerable Groups, Strengthening of Institutions, Good Governance, Political Parties and Electoral Matters, Traditional Institution, Federal Capital Territory Administration, Fundamental Human Rights and National Security.
He further explained that in the first batch of the review exercise, the Committee in the House of Representatives considered sixty-two (62) Bills out of which twenty-six (26) Bills were recommended for harmonization with the Senate, and of the 62 bills, eight (8) bills were rejected, twenty-five (25) Bills were retained with modifications and the consideration of 3 bills were deferred.
“We have worked tirelessly to engage, negotiate, debate, lobby, review and persuade in order to reflect the various competing and contrasting aspirations of Nigerians of different leanings and backgrounds.
“One thing we are sure of is that no one has been left behind. We have aggregated all manner of proposals, sorted them out to meet the constitutional guidelines and criteria and have ultimately harmonized positions after lengthy debates and majority votes on several critical issues.
“We have no preconceived positions on anything. We believe that we must do whatever is necessary to provide a platform for Nigerians to air their views, give their positions and canvass whatever they feel would make our country better and make governance more efficient and successful.
“We also are cognizant of the fact that we cannot work in isolation if we must achieve concrete result and deliver on the promises we have made to Nigerians. Whatever we have done will still go through the State Houses of Assembly for their own input and vote. Hence, the need for this collaborative synerg, which will give us the opportunity to engage, consult and harmonize for a smoother, tidier and more efficient Constitutional review.
