Senate Constitution Review Is Guided By Law -GOS

The Chairman of the Senate Session on the Review of the 1999 Constitution for the Southwest zone, Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon, GOS, has said that the review is backed by constitutional provisions.

The Senate Minority Whip said this at the end of the Senate public hearing on the review, which kicked off at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, yesterday.

GOS while reacting to calls that Nigeria needs a fresh constitution by the people, rather than amendments, said that “the 1999 constitution made provisions for amendments.”

The Senator representing Lagos West Senatorial District, added that there are no provisions in the constitution that stipulate how to go about a fresh constitution.

According to him, “Where do we start to do that? We will put that to Nigerians to come up with a suggestion to add such amendment to the existing constitution before we can do so.”

He, however, said that the committee is passionate about the positions presented at the session and would ensure that the views were presented to the larger house.

“We cannot say precisely what issues dominated the presentations, but all we can say is that all issues in the agenda were touched by various persons and interests that presented their memoranda,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, representing Lagos Central zone, said that there is no way all interests would be accommodated by the amendment, adding that Nigerians would not be let down on the issue of security and development.

According to the former Lagos state first lady, “one thing that is paramount is security and development and on that, I am sure, the Senate will not let Nigerians down.

She said that the committee appreciate all the interests and agitation of the people and they would ensure that they are represented in their submission to the Senate.

She added that the issue of state police would be seriously looked into because of the security situation in the country.

“As it is, the federal police is not functioning adequately well, hence the need for a state owned police,” she noted.

The former chairman of New Era Foundation, however, assured that the interests of the people in the southwest would be addressed and represented well by the committee.

Some of the issues in the review agenda include devolution of powers, state creation, state police, role of traditional rulers, local government autonomy, and recognition of the six geo-political zones in the constitution.

By Jamiu Yisa