The House of Representatives has called on the Houses of Assembly in the six southwest states to support the ongoing review and amendment of the country’s 1999 constitution.

Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who is the chairman of the committee on the Constitution Review made the plea at Ikogosi during a retreat for speakers and principal officers of the State Houses of Assembly in the southwest.

Kalu underscored the crucial roles the state assemblies play in ensuring the successful alteration of the constitution, saying they remain fundamental bodies to facilitate the amendment of the existing legal framework.

He pledged the House’s commitment to work closely with the state assemblies in the ongoing constitution review exercise towards producing a more robust legal framework that would meet and satisfy the desires and yearnings of Nigerians.

The deputy speaker disclosed that the committee on constitution review has received a total of 161 proposals from the memoranda submitted, saying the panel is assiduously working towards delivering the reviewed constitution by December 2025.

He said: “In the amendment or review of the constitution, there is a process that the constitution abides with and one of them is the active participation of the state legislature.

You cannot amend the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without the involvement of the state legislation. They occupy the cardinal, fundamental position in the structure of the amendment of the Constitution.

“This visit is to strengthen our existing relationship. We are here today to see the southwest caucus of the Houses of Assembly to intimate them on the process and how far we have gone in our efforts to have a constitution review by December 2025″, he added.

The speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly and chairman of the southwest caucus, Hon Stephen Aribasoye hailed the National Assembly for collaborating with the legislative body, stressing that such synergy will foster unity and bring success in the process of constitutional review.

He added that the retreat was borne to foster cooperation among the southwest region in ensuring that peer review and synergy thrive in the lawmaking process.

“You can’t have constitutional amendment without the input of state legislation, which is 2/3 majority of the state house of Assembly have to agree before you can have any bill into in Nigeria.

“The Current National Assembly has been very fair in ensuring that all stakeholders are carried along including the Houses of Assembly in Nigeria. No nation can strive without good laws and laws are made by the legislative arms of the government”, he added.

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Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Abibat Adubiaro applauded the southwest Houses of Assemblies for being at the front burner of human development.

He also commended Aribasoye for his remarkable leadership policies which have brought creativity, and vibrance to the Ekiti State House of Assembly, making it the most innovative and ICT-driven House of Assembly in the country.

“South-west geo-political zone remains the front runner in so many areas of human development, which is a product of cooperation between Ekiti and legislature in our region”. he added

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