The National Assembly, yesterday, disclosed that the zonal public hearing on the review of the 1999 Constitution would hold in the six geopolitical zones of the country between May 26 and 27 ahead of a national public hearing in Abuja.
\nThe public hearing would simultaneously hold across 12 state capitals as each geopolitical zone would host two public hearings within the two days.
\nThe Chairman, Senate Committee on Constitution Review and Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, disclosed this in Abuja.
\nSpeaking while playing host to members of the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEPAD), led by its National Coordinator, Chino Obiagwu (SAN) in the DSP\u2019s office, yesterday, Omo-Agege called on those who have already submitted memoranda to speak to the documents at the events.
\nAccording to the deputy president of the Senate, the public hearing for the South-South Zone will hold simultaneously in Port Harcourt and Asaba while Enugu and Owerri would host the hearing for the South-East geopolitical zone.
\nThe state delegations to attend the Port Harcourt event include those from Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River while those from Delta, Edo and Bayelsa would meet in Asaba.
\nThe public hearing for the North-Central Zone would be hosted in Jos and Minna while that of North-East and North-West would hold in Bauchi and Gombe as well as Kaduna and Sokoto, respectively.
\nAkure and Lagos would host the historic hearing for the South-West geopolitical zone.
\nRepresented by his Chief of Staff, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, Omo-Agege assured that women\u2019s interests in the new Constitution review would be protected.
\nOn the inclusion of Affirmative Action in the Constitution, he called on the women to reach out to elected representatives and groups from other geopolitical zones in the country, noting that they were key in determining if such demands could scale through in the ongoing Constitution amendment exercise.
\n\u201cYou will have also observed that on each of the Constitution review that has been done in the past, Affirmative Action and increased women representation have always been on the agenda. But in the past we have not been able to muster the numbers required to effect constitutional change.
\n\u201cHowever, in every exercise, we have seen increasing numbers of legislators\u2019 support the process. So, the challenge is how to reach the critical threshold during this process.
\n\u201cYour work is quite cut out for you. But be rest assured that we are partners in this business,\u201d he said.
\nEarlier, the National Coordinator, Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEPAD), Chino Obiagwu (SAN), called for increased women participation in politics.
\nAccording to him, the group has already submitted six proposals to the panel, explaining that if passed, women would occupy their rightful place in both elective and appointive positions in the country.
\n\u201cWe solicit your support and leverage on your influence in advocating for constitutional amendment and other legal reforms geared towards increasing women\u2019s political participation in Nigeria,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By:\u00a0Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi, Abuja<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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