Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, CON, has thrown his weight behind the ongoing Constitution Review process, describing it as a milestone in Nigeria’s pursuit of a more inclusive, equitable and people-driven governance system.
The governor gave this indication while declaring open the Zone ‘A’ North-East Zonal Public Hearing on the review of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He noted that since gaining independence, the nation has continually grappled with the challenge of crafting a constitutional framework that genuinely reflects the aspirations and diversity of its people.
The event, held on Saturday, at the International Conference Centre in Gombe, brought together key stakeholders from across the North-East states of Gombe, Bauchi and a d Taraba, to deliberate on constitutional reforms aimed at strengthening democracy and national development.
“The constitution is a living document; one that must be constantly updated to reflect the evolving needs and aspirations of our people”.
Tracing the country’s constitutional evolution from the 1914 Amalgamation to the present 1999 Constitution, Governor Inuwa Yahaya noted that while previous amendments have been made in 2010, 2011, 2017, and 2023, several critical issues still persist, particularly around federalism, local governance, fiscal decentralization, and the protection of fundamental rights.
Governor Inuwa Yahaya further urged the Constitutional Review Committee to focus on three major areas in the constitution that demand urgent attention: political stability through equitable representation and devolution of powers; economic prosperity by addressing fiscal federalism and resource control; and social justice by ensuring stronger provisions for gender equity, rights of the marginalized, and the protection of all citizens.
He expressed confidence that the Committee would consider the submissions by the Gombe State Government as presented by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr. Zubair Umar, in the broader interest of national unity and cohesion.
He further called on all stakeholders including traditional rulers, civil society organizations, legal professionals, and youth and women groups to participate actively in the hearing, saying their contributions will help shape a constitution that truly represents the collective aspirations of the people.
Speaking on the exercise, the Chairman House Committee for the Constitutional Review in North East Zone ‘A’ and Chief Whip of the House, Rt.Hon. Usman Bello Kumo, stated that the exercise being conducted across the country is in line with section 62 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which mandates the legislature to undertake a periodic constitutional review so that the grand norm of the land can be an all- inclusive and acceptable document.
“In the House of Representatives, our standing rules order 18 rule 9 empower the House of Representatives to periodically engage the public to have their buy-in and make sure that the grand norm of the land is a people’s oriented document to govern the country”, Kumo stated.
He assured participants that the committee will apply the principles of equity, justice and fairness in collecting and collating presentations across different spectrum of the zone and act on them appropriately in the greater interest of the nation.
He further used the occasion to express gratitude to Governor Inuwa Yahaya for his examplary leadership which has seen the execution of projects that have direct bearing on the lives of the people, adding that “we are thankful to God for blessing Gombe with you as a leader.”
In his remarks, the Consultant of the House Committee for the Constitutional Review in Northeast and former Governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, SAN, stated that the exercise was meant to engender a robust exchange of ideas between the citizens and the National Assembly with a view to enhancing the constitution to meet the aspirations of Nigerians.
He presented a compendium of Bills already proposed by the National Assembly as part of the amendment move which have been grouped under some thematic areas, including Electoral reforms, Judicial Reforms, Legislative reforms, Inclusive governance, security and policing, devolution of powers, fiscal reforms, citizenship and indigeneship, fundamental human rights as well as local government autonomy.
He stated that under electoral reforms, the amendment seeks the conduct of all general elections on the same day, abolishing the practice of holding presidential and national assembly; and governorship and House of Assembly on separate dates, as well as empowering INEC to conduct local government elections or creating a new commission that will be charged with that responsibility.
The consultant also announced that a new commission that will be charged with the role of registration and regulation of political parties is being proposed so as to allow INEC with the mandate of only conducting elections; while Electoral Offenses Commission is equally being proposed to handle cases of electoral malpractices.
On the judicial reforms, Barr. MA Abubakar disclosed that a bill is being proposed seeking to make Court of Appeal the terminal point of all appeals related to governorship, national and state assembly elections to allow Supreme Court to entertain appeals on only presidential election; while as part of the legislative reforms, a bill is being proposed to empower clerks of the National and State Assemblies to proclaim inaugural sittings of the parliaments as against the existing practice where the constitution allows the President and Governors to make proclamations.
Other bills on the compendium seek to among other things, reserves special seats for women in the National and State Assemblies, create state police, give traditional institutions a place in governance, enhance fiscal reforms, address issues of citizenship and indigeneship, fundamental human rights and local government autonomy.
Goodwill messages from the representatives of the Governor of Bauchi State, Government of Taraba State, the Chief Judge of Gombe State, the Emir of Gombe, HRH. Dr. Abubakar Shehu Abubakar III amongst others.
Highlight of the event was the presentation of memoranda for state and local government creations, federal and state constituencies and sector reforms from groups and individuals.
