This came to the fore on Wednesday during the committees’ inaugural meeting.
The Chairman of the committees who is also the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, announced the names of the 47-member committee to review the 1999 Constitution.
Barau said the committee is unique in the sense that it has all female senators as members.
The chairman promised that the committee would operate differently from previous committees to achieve its set objectives.
During the contributions, the lawmaker representing Niger East, Sen Sani Musa, noted that the bills should be sorted based on importance.
He said, “We have learnt a thing from the last Assembly when most of the bills were not prioritised.
“so, this time, let us prioritise and take the ones that are very critical like the issue of the state police, devolution of powers, and areas that we feel will have a direct impact on our Constitution. When we do this, it would fast track the Constitution review.”
The chairman of the committee, Barau, noted that all the observations would be raised to be used as a road map in the workings of the committee.
Earlier, Barau said that the Ad- hoc committee on Constitution Review has set 24 months to complete the exercise.
He noted that the committee will work in synergy with that of the House of Representatives for constitution alteration.
Barau said, “I wish to quickly remind you that we will work in synergy with our counterparts in the House of Representatives, and we will be very strategic in the conduct of our affairs.
“We will be guided by the laws and rules of legislative business, including precedence where it does not conflict with any known rule, while also being innovative where we can.
“The committee will strongly consult and engage critical stakeholders in a way that will ensure that bills passed by the National Assembly will be approved by the State Houses of Assembly and assented to by Mr. President.”
He added, “It is important to note that the Committee is not constituted to rewrite the 1999 Constitution but to process proposed amendments to it, and we will strive to conclude this assignment within the next 24 months.
” The secretariat will submit a work plan and a process map with timelines to the Steering Committee which will be presented for consideration and approval by members in the next meeting.”
In his comment, a member of the committee, Senator Adamu Aliero ( PDP Kebbi Central), admonished members to avoid controversial issues that may not sail through if included in the exercise.
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe ( APGA Abia South), advised the committee to use the template adopted by the Ninth National Assembly by avoiding a lump sum document presentation made in the past and rejecting presidential assents due to one or two controversial issues involved.
He said, “Let us follow what was done in the 9th National Assembly, treat all issues to be raised on separate bills for consideration, passage separately.
“Also, we must take the issue of time seriously; it is often one of the pitfalls in the consideration of the Constitution Amendment. We often leave the bills till the third or fourth year and by the time it gets to the president for assent and there are one or two issues, you’d discover that we no longer have time to make adjustments to those bills and represent to the president.”
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, said both senators Ahmad Lawan and Aminu Tambuwal are on the committee as former presiding officers of the National Assembly.
Apart from the two, he said former governors are on the committee to bring their wealth of experience as state executives to bear in the national assignment.
He assured Nigerians that the assignment would not be business as usual because there were a lot of national issues to be dealt with.
Senator Olalere Oyewumi for South West also spoke about managing time.
He said the committee should not work in isolation but work in tandem with the executive.
He said this will reduce variance in opinion and that such should be adopted at the state level in which state governors should be carried along.
Senator Aminu Tambuwal as a former principal officer also sided with time consciousness while calling for deepening consultations of stakeholders.
He said the constitution as the most important document that governs the country is imperfect and it prescribed ways through which it can be reviewed.
The former Speaker suggested the inclusion of youths, women, and Nigerians in the diaspora.
He hoped the 10th Senate would provide a remarkable amendment.
