The Senate Committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution said on Friday it had received 108 memoranda and 56 requests for states creation.
Chairman of the committee, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, who stated this in Asaba at the opening of a two-day retreat of the committee, said the memoranda and the requests came from the six geo-political zones of the country.
He said that constitution review was a continuous process.
According to him, the committee has also articulated other critical national issues based on unfolding realities and has come up with issues requiring urgent considerations in the amendment process.
He listed areas for such considerations to include devolution of powers, creation of more states, and recognition of the six geo-political zones.
Other are the role for traditional rulers, local government creation and the place of local government in the federal arrangement.
Ekweremade also identified fiscal federalism, immunity clause, Nigeria Police, Land Use Act, NYSC act and the Code of Conduct, as among other issues.
Others are: “Amendment of provisions relating to amendment of the constitution, boundary adjustment to remove ambiguities, executive issues as it concerns tenure and system of government, rotation of executive offices, residency and indigene provisions.
“Judiciary, mayoral status of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, gender and special groups.''
He said that although input into the last constitution review was still valid,? “there must have been changes in the positions of individuals and groups on some issues”.
Ekweremadu, who is the Deputy President of the Senate, announced that in spite of the enormous job, the exercise would be concluded in July, 2013.
In a goodwill message, Alhaji Garuba Inuwa, Chairman of the Speakers' Forum, said the importance of constitution review in a democratic dispensation was inevitable.
Inuwa, who was represented by the Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Mr Eugene Odo, said that the Conference of the Speakers had also constituted a committee on review at the state level.
He said that was to enable the states’ parliaments to come up with more issues that would give more power to the people in the constitution.
In similar vein, Mrs Okemini Mba, National President, National Council of Women Societies,(NCWS) , urged the committee to ensure that the rights of women were clearly incorporated in the constitution.
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