Senate Assures On Constitution Review

The National Assembly will hold certain fundamental ideals
sacrosanct and will resist any attempt to erode its powers to review the 1999
Constitution, Senate President, David Mark, has warned.

Mark gave the warning yesterday in Abuja at the opening of a
two-day public hearing on further review of the 1999 constitution.

“Any Constitution worth its salt must guarantee periodic
elections, fundamental rights, a system of checks and balances.

“It must also guarantee the principle of separation of
powers, a vibrant legislature, a dynamic Executive, an Independent Judiciary,
and a free press,’’Mark said.

The Senate President stressed the need for the legislature
to work hard to deepen these fundamental principles, and strengthen the
institutions which guarantee them.

“Legitimacy will be restored to the ground norm if all these
can be accomplished on the basis of the contributions which you will make here
today, as well as other contributions generated from Nigerians in the process
of constitution review.’’

While acknowledging that the task of reviewing the
constitution had historically never been easy, Mark solicited the
participation, commitment and cooperation of all key stakeholders in the
assignment.

“These include the Houses of Assembly of the states, the
federal and state governments, and the general public.’’

In his remarks, Deputy Senate President and Chairman, Senate
Constitution Review Committee, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, disclosed that a total of
231 memoranda, in addition to 56 other memoranda proposing the creation of
additional states, had been received.

Ekweremadu listed the areas of the constitution in which
Nigerians wanted amended through their memoranda to include devolution of
powers, state creation and constitutional recognition of the six geo-political
zones.

Other areas were the local government system, fiscal
federalism, residency and indigenes, the Nigeria Police, rotation of offices,
immunity clause and the executive.

The Deputy Senate President also listed judicial reforms to
strengthen justice delivery, the desirability or otherwise of a mayoral status
for the Federal Capital Territory as other areas.

Also listed for amendment were the extraction of the Land
Use Act, National Youth Service Act, and Code of Conduct from the constitution
to make their amendments easier and faster, among other issues.

Ekweremadu said the public hearing would be held in the six
geo-political zones of the country in November to take the process closer to
the people.