By Gift ChapiOdekina, Abuja
The National Assembly on Monday held what leaders described as the final and decisive joint retreat on the ongoing Constitution review process, marking the last major meeting before lawmakers vote on far-reaching amendments that could reshape Nigeria’s governance structure for generations.
Members of the Commitee and Speakers of State Houses of Assembly declared that the window for deliberation had closed and that the next step would be historic voting on the Constitution alteration Bills.
Senate Deputy President and Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, Senator Barau Jibrin, stressing that this retreat was not another round of debates but the conclusive session before decisions are made.
“Our meeting today will be less deliberative… the purpose is to approve positions reached previously,” he said.
“This is the last lap of this assignment. We must fulfil our promise to Nigerians that the Bills will be transmitted to the State Houses of Assembly this year.”
Barau reminded participants that the Lagos retreat a month earlier had already resolved most contentious issues, leaving only the task of ratification and technical reporting.
Echoing the same urgency, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the House Constitution Review Committee, Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, declared that Nigeria had reached the turning point of the entire amendment cycle.
“Colleagues, let me be clear: this is the final retreat before the historic voting on the constitution alteration bills,” Kalu said emphatically.
“After today, we move from deliberation to decision. We move from consultation to legislative action. We move from debate to delivery.”
Kalu noted that the committee had already conducted six zonal hearings, three technical retreats, and consultations with governors, political parties, security agencies, traditional rulers, women’s groups, and civil society.
According to him, those engagements revealed overwhelming national demand for reforms that will:
“Devolve more powers to states, Guarantee local government autonomy, Strengthen state policing and internal security, Ensure credible elections, Deepen fiscal federalism, Expand gender representation
Both chairmen stressed that the fate of the amendments now rests heavily with State Houses of Assembly, which must approve at least two-thirds of the proposals before they become law, as required by Section 9 of the Constitution.
According to Kalu: “The success or failure of this review will not be determined here in Abuja, but in the 36 State Assemblies. You are the gatekeepers of constitutional reform.”
Senator Barau added that the retreat was deliberately structured to ensure state lawmakers are fully aligned before Bills are transmitted to them.
The Deputy Speaker also announced that all governors would be briefed on Wednesday, a move aimed at ensuring state-level endorsement and avoiding political roadblocks.
“This is not to undermine executive authority,” he said, “but to strengthen federalism and deliver the democracy Nigerians deserve.
“History is watching us. Over 200 million Nigerians anticipate direction from this Assembly.”
He urged Speakers to return to their states as “ambassadors of reform,” while calling on federal lawmakers to seize their moment: “This is our moment. Let us rise to it.”
With deliberations concluded, sub-committee reports will be harmonized and taken to plenary sessions in both chambers for voting expected to be one of the most defining legislative exercises of the 10th National Assembly.
If the Bills secure the required two-thirds approval in state assemblies, Nigeria could see sweeping constitutional changes before the end of the legislative year.
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