State creation, assembly autonomy, dominate North-East public hearing

Calls for the creation of new states, greater legislative autonomy, and judicial reforms dominated discussions at the North-East Zonal Public Hearing on the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution, held Friday in Maiduguri. Stakeholders from the region demanded the creation of Savannah, Amana, Katagum, and Muri states, alongside the devolution of powers, local government autonomy, […]

Calls for the creation of new states, greater legislative autonomy, and judicial reforms dominated discussions at the North-East Zonal Public Hearing on the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution, held Friday in Maiduguri.

Stakeholders from the region demanded the creation of Savannah, Amana, Katagum, and Muri states, alongside the devolution of powers, local government autonomy, security restructuring, resource control, and an expanded constitutional role for traditional rulers.

Declaring the hearing open, Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, represented by his Deputy, Dr Umar Kadafur, commended the leadership of the National Assembly for facilitating public participation in the constitutional review process.

Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkareem Lawan, described the review as a “golden opportunity” for Nigerians to contribute to strengthening democracy and equity across the country.

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“One key issue we must sincerely look into is the autonomy of state Houses of Assembly. Several efforts have been made in the past, but none have yielded results,” Lawan said. “This time must be different. We hope this exercise will address critical areas like devolution of power, security architecture, resource control, judicial reforms, and the role of traditional institutions.”

The Speaker urged the National Assembly to ensure the review leads to practical amendments that empower state legislatures to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities.

Senator Barau Jibrin, Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, said the goal of the public hearing is to build national consensus and not merely reflect the voices of a vocal few.

Represented by Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), who chaired the North-East Zonal session, he assured that the committee would prioritise submissions that address the real concerns of Nigerians.