Constitution review: Reps reiterate commitment to fairness, transparency

Chairman, South West Centre ‘A’ of House of Representatives Committee of Review of the 1999 Constitution, Rt. Hon. Isiaka Ibrahim Ayokunle, on Saturday, assured that the committee is fully committed to conducting the review process with utmost fairness, openness, and transparency, saying that the body recognised the importance of the stakeholders’ voices and the critical role each plays in shaping the future of the nation.

Ayokunle, who is also the Deputy Chief Whip of the 360-member parliament, gave this assurance at the Committee’s public hearing, which took place in Ikeja, as the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Speakers of the Lagos, Ogun and Oyo Houses of Assembly, Women and Youth groups, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), traditional rulers, among others canvassed for various needs, including state creation, State Police, special status for Lagos State, inclusion of the 37 LCDAs in the 1999 Construction of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, among others.

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Some of the proposed states are new Oyo State with Oyo town proposed as its capital, Ibadan State with Ibadan proposed as its capital, Remo State with headquarters at Sagamu, Ijebu State with headquarters at Ijebu-Ode, among others.

According to him, the committee’s goal is to ensure that the review reflects the diverse aspirations of the people, upholding justice and equity, stressing that the committee was resolved to ensure that the review process was transparent and all stakeholders remained informed of the review at every step.

This was just as he further assured that all memoranda and suggestions addressed to the committee would be carefully consolidated and given the attention they deserved at the National Assembly level.

Speaking at the event, Governor Sanwo-Olu restated the need for a Special Status for Lagos State, stating that such a request was long overdue, positing that such a request had become imperative owing to the strategic position of the state, especially as the former Federal Capital of the nation and the burdens it bears.

Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hazmat, also reiterated the call for State Police, saying that state policing was not about semantics but about protecting the people.

This was just as he noted that the government whenever it moves the nation’s capital from one state to another, does not abandon such a state to carry the burden left, but compensates the state with a special status, urging the Federal Government to be fair to the people of Lagos by granting it a special status as a former Federal Capital of the Nigeria.

“Any state that was once the federal capital of the nation cannot just inherit the assets and liabilities of the entire country, and then be forgotten of the responsibilities that come with those assets. As a nation, let us be fair to the people of Lagos by granting the state a special status,” the governor said.

Speaking further, Governor Sanwo-Olu equally stressed the need for the National Assembly to ensure the listing of the 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) on the nation’s constitution, adding that these LCDAs, since creation in 2003, had succeeded in bringing governance closer to the people and accelerate grassroot development in the state and, therefore, needed to be listed and recognized in the nation’s constitution.

The governor, while noting that the public hearing was not just another chapter in the country’s constitutional history but a special and invaluable chance for the people of Lagos and the entire South West region to have a direct and meaningful say in shaping the nation’s highest law, urged the need to be guided by the principles of inclusiveness, equity, and justice to arrive with a document that accommodate the hopes, worries, and dreams of the people.

“As we embark on this critical process of reviewing our constitution, we must be guided by the principles of inclusiveness, equity, and justice. We must listen to everyone, men and women, young and old, from all corners of our communities. Their hopes, worries, and dreams should shape the amendments that come out of this process,” he said.

The governor commended the Committee of House Representatives for its dedication to a transparent and inclusive review process, charging all stakeholders and citizens to participate by canvassing their views with clarity of purpose.

He, however, reaffirmed that his government was fully committed to the principles of democracy, good governance, and the rule of law, adding: “We will keep supporting all initiatives aimed at strengthening our constitutional framework and deepening the roots of our democracy.”

In their goodwill messages, the Speakers of the Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo State Houses of Assemblies gave their support for the devolution of power from the centre, State Police, the listing of Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) in the nation’s constitution, as well as recognition of the traditional rulers by the constitution.

Besides, speakers also gave their support for the waterways permit to be transferred to the state government, among other issues that were peculiar to the region.

On State Creation, A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abass Agboworin Adigun, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), and Nurudeen Akinade, in their separate memorandum submitted to the House Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution, demanded the creation of Ibadan State.

Agboworin Adigun, who is also a member of the Committee, moved for the creation of Ibadan State with Ibadan proposed as the capital, if the bill is eventually assented to by the president.

The Federal lawmaker in the Bill, which he titled: “An Act to Amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) to provide for the creation of Ibadan State with Ibadan as the proposed Capital City and for Related Matters, 2025,” and sponsored by him, proposed that the new state, should comprise 32 local government areas.

He listed the local governments to include: Ibadan North LGA, Ibadan North East LGA, Ibadan North West LGA, Ibadan South East LGA, Akorede LGA, Ibarapa East LGA, Ibarapa North LGA, Ido LGA, Ona-Ara LGA, Apete LGA, among others.

He declared pointedly that the new state, if created, had enough resources, both human and capital resources, to stand and compete with other thriving states in the country.

Chief Akintola, while demanding the creation of Ibadan State, said each of the communities that make up the proposed state was larger than many towns and villages in the country.

He explained that the number of local government areas in the present Oyo State was too small to adequately take care of the interests of the people, stressing that some states with a higher number of local government areas were far smaller in size compared to Ibadan.

On his part, Akinade argued that the creation of Ibadan State was long overdue, saying that the population of the people in Ibadan, which he put at 4.2million, tripled that of other states, even as he noted that Ibadan alone has a land mass of 28,000 square kilometres.

Also speaking, Hon. Wale Awe, while moving for the creation of Remo State out of the present Ogun State, said the demand was necessary to ensure that the interest of Remo people were adequately represented, adding that the proposed state had enormous resources to take care of itself.

Funmilola Okunowo also led other prominent Ijebu leaders to demand immediate creation of Ijebu State at the public hearing.