State Police, Diaspora Voting, LG Reform Up For Debate As Reps Target New Constitutional Changes

The House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review will be inaugurated as soon as the National Assembly resumes from its Christmas/New Year recess, The PUNCH has exclusively gathered.

The committee chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, is expected to commence work when the House reconvenes on Tuesday, January 30.

The 37-man committee comprises one representative from each of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

Speaking in confidence with our correspondent, an associate of Kalu said, “I can confirm to you that all is now ready for them to start their work. They have gathered relevant documents and are only waiting for the parliament to resume.

“Each state has a member and the FCT also has a representative. That makes it a 37-man body. The spread of the membership is to ensure that the exercise fulfills the requirement of inclusive participation and I believe the exercise would be worth the yearnings of Nigerians at the end of the day.”

The 1999 Constitution has been altered five times but the challenges of governance, demand for improved transparency and accountability, and restructuring of the Nigerian State, among others, have made further amendments to the nation’s extant law inevitable.

The amendments took place twice under the late President Umaru Yar’ Adua and thrice under the immediate-past President, Muhammadu Buhari.

In 2018, during the first tenure of Buhari, five constitutional alterations took place, and in 2023, while serving his second and last term, 16 new alterations were carried out in the Constitution.

Although the 9th House led by Femi Gbajabiamila recorded some strides with the passage of bills to liberate the legislature and judiciary from the grip of state governors, putting railways on the concurrent list and granting federating states powers to generate their own electricity; the 10th Assembly wasted no time in expressing its commitment to taking the constitutional amendment process a step further.

Speaking at the unveiling of the Legislative Agenda, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas said, “The 10th House will pursue constitutional reforms purposely, deliberately and expeditiously. Previous efforts at the constitution review have yielded good results; the House desires to give Nigeria a new comprehensive constitution that truly captures the sentiment, ‘we, the people…”

According to him, the process to achieve further alteration would include, “Enactment of a constitutional alteration procedure law to provide a timeline for the passage of constitution alteration bills by the National Assembly and adoption by the state Houses of Assembly; consolidate all constitutional alterations into a document in collaboration with the Nigerian Law Reform Commission; review of penal provisions in existing statutes with a view to updating fines to reflect the prevailing value of naira/kobo; and promote post-legislative scrutiny with the judiciary focusing on constitutional alterations.

The enactment of the Electoral Act 2022 is the biggest takeaway from the immediate-past government of Buhari. Yet, the controversy in what the law says in the transmission of votes in real time to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s viewing portal has led to intense calls for further amendments. The Abbas-led House alluded to this controversy when it pointed out in its agenda that “the 2023 general elections in Nigeria excited the most interest of Nigerians in recent times.

“It, however, suffered setbacks regarding the implementation of the recent constitutional amendments and the new Electoral Act 2022. The House will carefully examine complaints and observations made by stakeholders arising from the conduct of the 2023 general elections and amend the Electoral Act 2022 to remedy some of the gaps observed including vague and contracting provisions.”

This is an addition to the House pledge to “amend the Electoral Act 2022 to allow diaspora voting by government officials around the world.”

Speaking with The PUNCH, a member of the committee, who did not want his name in print because the committee had not been inaugurated, said, “The Electoral Act 2022 as good as it is, did not help much in refining the electioneering process. We need to work on it, particularly Section 60 (5) which provides that the presiding officer shall transfer the results including the total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot in a manner prescribed by the commission.”

According to him, lawmakers at both the federal and state levels would need to take another look at the provision to avoid the controversy thrown up by what he called “the belief by some people that results were not transmitted electronically by INEC during the presidential election.”

Another item on the plate of the lawmakers ahead of the constitution review exercise is the issue of state police. Since 2009 when the Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf, and his lieutenant, Abubakar Shekau, unleashed terror on Nigerians in their violent campaign to force their version of Islam on Nigerians, the country has known no peace.

What started as an isolated problem has since morphed into a nationwide challenge as kidnapping for ransom, killings and all manner of criminality take centre stage.

During his electioneering campaigns, incumbent President Bola Tinubu made a case for the decentralisation of the Nigeria Police Force to give room for state policing.

However, lawmakers who spoke with newsmen on record expressed mixed feelings about the desirability or otherwise of state police.

Speaking with our correspondent, the member representing Abeokuta South Federal Constituency, Ogun State, Afolabi Afuape, expressed his readiness to go with whatever the majority of lawmakers vote for, adding, however, that state police may not be the solution to the nation’s security challenges.

He said, “I am a democrat. When we resume and begin the process of the review of the constitution, I will abide by the decision of the majority.

“Is state police the solution? I don’t think so. If you take a look at elections conducted by the state Electoral Commissions, the party of the government in power always wins. So, if the states create their own police, is it not possible that it could be abused?

“I don’t have anything against this process but what about the funding? Can the states fund their own police? These are my fears.”

Also speaking, the Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Okuwole Oke, said state police was an idea whose time had come.

“As a member of the committee under the leadership of the Deputy Speaker, we will work to ensure that we give Nigerians the constitution they truly deserve. Aside from state police, state creation and constituency delimitation processes will be looked into to ensure people’s participation in government.”

He continued, “True separation of powers to ensure the independence of the arms of government, particularly in the areas of funding, appointment, promotion and discipline as well as devolution of power, and enthronement of true federal character will be looked into.”

Another issue expected to dominate discourse in the review exercise is local government reform with an emphasis on financial autonomy.

During the exercise, the House is expected to “alter the constitution to recognise local government as an independent tier with full financial and operational autonomy. This will be done in consultation with the states.”

The review will also define the tenure of local government chairpersons and councillors to prevent undue interference from state governors.

Also, as expressed in the legislative agenda, Oke added that the constitution will be amended “to provide for independent local government election commissions or strengthen State Independent Electoral Commissions.