The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has revealed that none of the 31 requests for state creation met the constitutional requirements.
Kalu, who chairs the House Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, made this known on Friday at a two-day retreat in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.
“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.
The event, organised with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre and supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, aimed to review amendment bills and strategise on the next steps in the constitutional review process.
He also disclosed that the House Committee is currently reviewing 151 constitutional amendment bills, noting that duplication was a key challenge in the process.
As part of the review process, zonal and national public hearings will be held across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with sessions planned in Nasarawa, Niger, Borno, Gombe, Kaduna, Sokoto, Enugu, Imo, Bayelsa, Cross River, Lagos, and Ondo states.
Kalu assured that the review process would be transparent and inclusive, emphasising the need for legislative reforms that reflect the will of the Nigerian people.
“As legislators, we must ensure the voices of Nigerians are reflected in our constitutional reforms,” he said.
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