The Constitution Review Committee of the House of Representatives is set to meet with the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) on July 23 to present bills currently under consideration and seek their support for passage.
This is contained in a statement by the deputy speaker’s chief press secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu, in Abuja on Thursday.
Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, also the committee’s chair, disclosed this while unveiling a detailed timeline of activities at a meeting of the panel on Wednesday at the National Assembly.
Mr Kalu urged lawmakers to ensure the current bills before the committee are passed by December and consider the possibility of the second round of amendments, as new bills are still being sponsored by members.
“The second meeting/engagement with the NGF is expected to hold on Wednesday, July 23.
“The meeting is to present the bills currently under consideration to them as requested during previous engagements, seek their support on the proposed amendments, and secure buy-in and backing for passage of contentious bills.
“Joint retreat of Senate and House constitution review members with Speakers/Clerks of the 36 state houses of assembly to harmonise bills will hold from September 25 to September 28,” the deputy speaker said.
According to him, a constitution review committee will hold a diplomatic dinner on June 20 to seek support and collaboration from the diplomatic community on specific thematic areas, such as gender, security architecture, and state policing, to promote global best practices.
He said there would also be an engagement with civil society organisations as part of the National Assembly’s open week on July 23.
“The engagement will bring expertise and alternative perspectives to the constitutional review process, helping to shape our legislative decisions by highlighting deficiencies and proposing further debates,” Mr Kalu said.
“Engagement with media executives (Guild of Editors, NUJ, NBAN, etc) will hold on July 28 to July 29 in Abuja.
“The committee will also meet with speakers of the 36 state houses of assembly in a joint retreat with Senate Constitution Review members to harmonise bills and ensure consistency across the country,” he said.
Mr Kalu also provided a timeline for the anticipated public and national hearings on the bills, as well as a meeting with the 18 registered political parties in the country, stating that the goal is to ultimately aggregate the views of Nigerians.
“As discussed in our previous meetings, the committee is poised to subject the 87 prioritised bills that have passed second reading to public hearings in each of the six geopolitical zones,” the lawmaker said.
He said zonal chairs would liaise with states to ensure their participation in the process.
“The hearings will hold as follows: Northern geopolitical zones – July 11 to July 133, southern geopolitical zones –July 18 to July 20.
“National public hearing – July 21, engagement with Nigerian political parties (18 registered political parties leadership) is expected to hold on July 14 in Abuja.
“This is amongst other engagements to facilitate public discussions and education on constitutional issues, promoting transparency and accountability in the review process,” he said.
He said the meetings are part of the committee’s efforts to ensure the successful passage of key bills by December.
The deputy speaker also stated that the House would hold a one-week plenary debate on the bills, while voting on them is expected to be held on October 14. The transmission of the bills to the state assemblies is also expected to take place on October 14.
“One-week plenary debate on the constitution review bills to familiarise members with their contents in preparation for the voting is expected to hold on from October 7 to October 9.
“Voting in the plenary will hold on October 14. The secretariat retreat to produce a clean copy will hold from October 16 to October 19.
“Transmission to states: (at a ceremony in Transcorp) with the leadership of the committee and Senate, with speakers/clerks of the state houses of assembly is expected to hold on October 300,” Mr Kalu added.
(NAN)
