Senate President Ahmad Lawan has named a 57-member Constitution Review Committee to be chaired by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta Central).
Principal Officers of the Senate that constitute members of the Steering committee as well as members of the panel are the Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi; Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Robert Ajayi Boroffice; Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi; Minority Leader, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe; Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha; Minority Whip Philip Aduda and the Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Sahabi Ya’u.
Each state is represented by one Senator as follows: Senators Theordore Orji (Abia), Aishatu Ahmed Dahiru (Adamawa), Stella Oduah (Anambra), Albert Bassey (Akwa-Ibom), Haliru Jika (Bauchi), Diegi Biobakara (Bayelsa) and Gabriel Suswam (Benue).
Others are Senators Abubakar Kyari (Borno), Gershom Bassey (Cross-River), James Manager (Delta), Sam Egwu (Ebonyi), Matthew Urhoghide (Edo), Bamidele Opeyemi (Ekiti), Ike Ekweremadu (Enugu), Danjuma Goje (Gombe), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Sabo Mohammed (Jigawa), Uba Sani (Kaduna), Kabiru Gaya (Kano), Baba Kaita (Katsina), Adamu Aliero (Kebbi), Smart Adeyemi (Kogi) and Sadiq Umar (Kwara).
Senators Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa), Mohammed Sani Musa (Niger), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Nicholas Tofowomo (Ondo), Bashiru Ajibola (Osun), Teslim Folarin (Oyo), Hezekiah Dimka (Plateau), George Sekibo (Rivers), Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto), Yusuf Yusuf (Taraba), Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe) and Hassan Gusau (Zamfara) are also members of the Committee.
In addition, the Committee has zonal representation as each zone is represented by two Senators as follows: Senators Bala Ibn Na’Allah and Ibrahim Shekarau (North West); Kashim Shettima and Lawal Gumau (North East); Tanko Al-makura and Yakubu Oseni (North Central); Abdulfatai Buhari and Biodun Olujimi (South West); Uche Ekwunife and Chukwuka Utazi (South East) and Akon Eyakenyi and Rose Oko (South South).
Lawan advised the committee to represent the Senate and the entire National Assembly.
Lawan said: “I want to take this opportunity to advise that you represent the entire Senate and indeed the National Assembly.
“Distinguished Senators who are not members can still participate by way of giving any solution and any advice they feel strongly about for this committee to succeed.
“As for the activities of the committee, you will engage not only members of the National Assembly and other statutory bodies like INEC and Civil Society groups but Nigerians are interested in the way and manner we do our activities here.
“Nigerians have interest in the Constitution review that the National Assembly will bank upon.
“There are several issues Nigerians feel very strongly about, the Constitution Review Committee is supposed to be a platform where such issues could be brought and where those who are interested should ensure that they make every possible efforts, including presentation for their views to be considered.
“We as a National Assembly especially the Senate wants to have a stable country that gives every citizen opportunity to actualize their dreams, we want to have a security that is enchanced and economy that works for everyone. Stability of the polity is important.
“We advise any organisation that has anything as contribution to send it to the Constitution review committee.”
However, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah (Anambra South) protested the list.
He said that his party, the Young Progressives Party (YPP) has no representative in the Committee.
Ubah said: “There is no mention of my political party, YPP, in the Constitution review committee.
“I think it is maybe an oversight. Mr. President should consider our party because we are here on our own and I am a caucus of my party.”
Lawan in his response said that the membership of the committee was not drawn along political lines.
“The membership is not strictly based on political parties.
“If you will recall that at the beginning, I said each state is going to represented by one Senator and each geopolitical zone will have zonal representation but your point of order is well taken.
“This is part of what we are trying to do in the Constitution review. I am sure the Constitution review committee, chairman and members will take note of this.
“Don’t despair, you are YPP, you have other opportunities so this is our Senate including the YPP,” Lawan said.
