Constitution Review: Senate panel receives 49 new states, LGAs requests, begins public hearings

The Senate Committee on Constitution Review (CRC) has received 31 proposals for the creation of new states and 18 requests for the establishment of additional local government areas from various interest groups in the country.

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday by his media office.

The statement outlined the committee’s programme ahead of the zonal public hearings on the constitution review, scheduled to take place from 4 to 5 July.

The hearings will take place simultaneously across six geopolitical zones, with one city in each zone selected as the host.

Enugu State will host the hearing in the South-east zone, Ikot Ekpene in Akwa Ibom State for the South-south, Jos for the North-central, Maiduguri for the North-east and Kano State for the North-west.

The North-west hearing was postponed to honour the late business icon and elder statesman, Aminu Dantata.

The hearings will be supervised by senior members of the Senate.

Each geopolitical zone will be supervised by designated Senate leaders. The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio will oversee hearing in South-south zone, Mr Bamidele will handle the South-west, while Deputy Chief Whip Peter Nwebonyi will coordinate proceedings in the South-east.

Join the Premium Times WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.

Open in WhatsApp

Others are Deputy Senate Leader Oyelola Ashiru (North-central), Chief Whip Tahir Monguno (North-east), and Senator Barau Jibrin (North-west).

During the hearing, the committee is expected to consider the creation of new states, state police, gender equality, local government autonomy, electoral reforms, judicial reforms, inclusive governance and other national issues.

Breakdown of state and LGA creation proposals

Giving the breakdown of proposals for creation of new states, Mr Bamidele said there were six requests from the North-west, eight from North-central, five from South-east, six from North-east, six from South-south and four from South-west.

He also noted that some prominent stakeholders in Abuja submitted a request seeking recognition of the Federal Capital Territory as a state.

“While there are 18 requests for the creation of local government areas nationwide, the committee had received 31 proposals for the creation of additional states with six from North-west, eight from North-central, five from South-east, six from North-east, six from South-south and four from South-west.

“Prominent stakeholders of the Federal Capital Territory are seeking recognition as a subnational entity,” the statement reads

For local government areas, Mrr Bamidele said seven requests were received from the North-west, five from North-central, one from North-east, three from South-south, one from South-east and one from South-west.

The proposals will be reviewed by lawmakers along with the participating interest groups.

Nigeria is made up of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja. The FCT is not classified as a state but operates as a federal territory and administered by an appointed minister.

Each Nigerian state is divided into local government areas, with the country currently having a total of 774 LGAs.

Security reforms

Beyond creation of states and LGAs, Mr Bamidele revealed that the committee also received proposals for the establishment of state police or other state government security agencies.

“One of the proposals is the bill seeking to alter the 1999 Constitution to provide for the establishment of state police or other state government security agencies,” he said.

He added that there is another proposal seeking to establish the State Security Council to advise governors on matters relating to public security and safety.

Over the years, there have been calls from some state governments and civil society organisations for localised policing as incidents of armed robbery, communal clashes and other security challenges increased.

A National Conference was convened in 2014 during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan where the participants recommended the creation of state police as a strategy to reduce insecurity.

The resurgence of banditry, kidnapping, and other terrorist activities has increased pressure from governors and political leaders for the creation of state police.

In the absence of a formal state policing structure, some regions have established informal security outfits such as Amotekun in the South-west, Ebube Agu in the South-east, and Hisbah in the North-west.

Despite the security challenges, the call for a state police is still a contentious issue among political figures. Some argued that without proper arrangements, state police could be exploited by governors to harass political opponents, suppress dissent, and stifle press freedom.

Others, however, argued that the best way to reduce insecurity is through state policing.

Devolution of powers

Mr Bamidele noted that the panel will also deliberate on a constitutional amendment to transfer some items from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List.

Specifically, a bill has been proposed to allow both federal and state governments to legislate on interstate waterways, labour, and shipping.

“There is a proposed bill to transfer control of interstate waterways from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List, thereby granting both the federal and state governments the power to legislate on matters relating to shipping and navigation on interstate waterways,” he said.

The senate leader added that there is also a proposal to ensure that every local government in each state has at least one member representing the local government in the House of Assembly to ensure equity, fairness and attract democratic dividends to inhabitants of each local government of the state.

Electoral reforms

He added that the committee will consider independent candidacy, allowing individuals to contest elections without political party affiliation and diaspora voting to enfranchise millions of Nigerians living abroad.

These reforms proposed to expand political participation and strengthen democratic legitimacy.

Budgeting system

On governance, Mr Bamidele said amendments are being proposed to fix specific deadlines for presidents and governors to submit annual appropriation bills and reduce the window for authorising withdrawals from the Consolidated Revenue Fund without an approved budget from six to three months.

READ ALSO: Senate ignores minister’s concerns, passes bill to create Bitumen Commission

He added that the amendment also seeks to revise the derivation formula to include revenues generated internally by states, thereby expanding their financial autonomy.

“The proposals further canvass the period within which the President or Governor may authorise the withdrawal of monies from the Consolidated Revenue Fund in the absence of an Appropriation Act from six months to three months.

“The proposals seek to provide for revision of the derivation formula by including other revenues generated within each state of the Federation,” he said..

All these proposals will be debated during the zonal public hearings, where civil society groups, community representatives, traditional institutions, and other stakeholders are expected to present their views.

After the hearings, the committee will collate findings, draft recommendations, and initiate the process for amendments.