Constitution Amendment: We’ll Carry All Nigerians Along, Says Deputy Speaker Kalu

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has assured that the National Assembly will carry Nigerians along in the ongoing constitutional amendment, saying the legislature will not dump any constitution on Nigerians.

He spoke in Lagos at the opening of a retreat organised for the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review and Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).

The retreat was to foster collaborations between the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review and Judicial Officers on proposals for constitutional alterations to enhance Nigeria’s judicial system.

Kalu, who is Chairman of the House Committee on the Review of the Constitution, emphasised the critical objectives of the engagement, which included shielding the judiciary from political pressure, expanding court jurisdictions and ensuring fair and credible elections.

He highlighted the judiciary’s pivotal role in interpreting laws, maintaining balance of power and guaranteeing citizens’ freedom.

He said the National Assembly was aggressively engaging Nigerians to ensure that no stakeholder was left behind.

The Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, stated that some previous amendments failed to achieve the desired impact on account of inadequate consultation, deficit of introspective impact, analysis and lack of sincerity driven by personal interest.

Fagbemi said, “For example, many states are yet to take advantage of items that we recently mulled from the exclusive to the concurrent legislative list.