THE Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu, has revealed that none of the 31 requests for state creation met the constitutional requirements.
Kalu, who also serves as the Deputy Speaker of the House, made this known on Friday during a two-day retreat for committee members in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.
The retreat, which will be held from February 20 to 23, 2025, provided a platform for reviewing pending amendment bills and strategizing about the next steps in the constitutional review process.
The 10th House organized the event in collaboration with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, which was supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO).
Recognizing the significance of state creation in Nigeria’s governance discourse, Kalu acknowledged that while the requests reflected the aspirations of various communities, they did not meet the legal criteria for consideration.
In response, the committee extended the submission deadline to March 5, 2025, allowing for further input and possible revisions. Kalu added that the deadline could be extended further depending on the retreat’s outcome.
He also disclosed that the House Committee is currently reviewing 151 constitutional amendment bills, reflecting lawmakers’ efforts to refine governance in Nigeria.
He noted that while some bills have advanced to the second reading, others remain at the first stage.
“Although we have received 31 requests for state creation, none of these requests met the constitutional requirements for amendment.
“Therefore, we have since extended the submission date to the 5th of March, 2025. But this retreat could in our resolution extend it further if we find out that there are still challenges that the people we represent in their efforts to make their voices heard.
“So at the end of this retreat, it will be one of the things we will look into, whether or not we will extend the time. But let it be a notice that none of the applications followed the conditions laid out by Section 8 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Kalu said.
Kalu highlighted a major challenge in the review process which is duplication.
He said some bills addressed similar issues under different sponsors, while others overlapped in subject matter.
To streamline efforts and eliminate redundancy, he said the committee categorized the bills into thematic areas.
The thematic areas are Federal Structure and Power Devolution, Local Government Autonomy, Public Revenue, Fiscal Federation, and Revenue Allocation, Nigerian Police and Security Architecture, Comprehensive Judicial Reforms, Electoral Reforms, Gender Issues and Human Rights as well as state creation.
The categorization, according to Kalu, would help lawmakers prioritize amendments based on national interest and legislative relevance.
Recognizing the intersection between constitutional amendments and electoral laws, he said the committee invited the leadership of both the House and Senate Committees on Electoral Matters to the retreat.
Kalu emphasized that any proposed changes to the Electoral Act requiring constitutional alterations must pass through the Committee.
“A proactive, cooperative approach will ensure seamless legislative processes and comprehensive legal reforms,” he said.
As part of the next phase of the constitutional review, he said the committee has scheduled Zonal and National Public Hearings across the six geopolitical zones.
These hearings, he said, will provide an avenue for Nigerians to contribute to the amendment process.
The hearings are set to take place in the North Central (Nasarawa and Niger States), North East (Borno and Gombe States), North West (Kaduna and Sokoto States), South East (Enugu and Imo States), South-South (Bayelsa and Cross River States), and the South West (Lagos and Ondo States).
Kalu urged lawmakers to work diligently and objectively on these bills to ensure that the final amendments reflect the will of the Nigerian people.
“As legislators, we must ensure the voices of Nigerians are reflected in our constitutional reforms,” he said.
Kalu promised a renewed commitment to a transparent and inclusive constitutional review process.
He expressed confidence that the committee’s deliberations would strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and governance structure.
Executive Director of PLAC, Mr Clement Nwankwo, said they have been very delighted to work with and support the Committee.
“We are quite confident that this committee intends to deliver on the mandate that it has set for itself and it will be a key and great win to see the amendments to the constitution delivered within the timeframe that this committee has set.
“We’re looking forward to great deliberations. My colleagues who are co-consultants with me on this project have been meeting over several the last couple of months to deliberate and come up with suggestions for this committee to look at,” he said.