The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the Committee on Constitution Review, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has revealed that none of the 31 proposals submitted for the creation of new states met the constitutional requirements.
Kalu made this disclosure on Friday during the opening of a two-day retreat for the House Committee on Constitution Review in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State. He also stated that over 200 bills seeking amendments to the 1999 Constitution have been received.
According to Kalu, the committee has categorized the bills into thematic areas, including federal structure and power devolution, local government autonomy, fiscal federation, revenue allocation, judicial reforms, electoral reforms, gender issues, and security.
He further explained that the deadline for state creation submissions has been extended to March 5, 2025, to allow applicants to meet the necessary requirements.
“Although we received 31 requests for state creation, none of the requests met the requirements. Thus, we have since extended the submission deadline to the 5th of March 2025,” Kalu stated.
Additionally, Kalu announced plans to establish a “situation room” in partnership with PLAC to monitor the constitutional review process and ensure public engagement.
“Unlike before, let me announce that we will partner with PLAC to open a situation room. A situation room that will be there to take and monitor the operations of the various other engagements. Questions you cannot address, the Secretariat will move those questions to the situation room where some of us will be having access to address all concerns. This situation room will also ensure that we publish all the engagements,” he said.
He emphasized the importance of lawmakers ensuring that the voices of Nigerians are reflected in the amendments and called for diligence, objectivity, and patriotism in the review process.
“As legislators, we must ensure the voices of Nigerians are reflected in our constitutional reforms. As we deliberate, I urge you to approach this task with diligence, objectivity, and patriotism. The success of this review process hinges on our collective dedication to national progress,” he stated.
The committee will soon embark on zonal public hearings across the six geopolitical zones to gather input from citizens on the constitutional review process.
