The National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review has taken a major step toward completing the long-awaited amendment of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), as lawmakers convened in Abuja on Monday to fine-tune the final draft of the alteration proposals ahead of the December 2025 deadline. Okay News reports.
During the meeting, members of the committee reviewed earlier decisions and prepared to transmit the amendment bills to the State Houses of Assembly for the crucial phase of approval required under Section 9 of the Constitution. Lawmakers are expected to vote in the coming weeks on sensitive issues Nigerians highlighted during consultations nationwide. These areas include power devolution, fiscal federalism, the creation of state police, electoral reforms, and guaranteed reserved seats for women.
According to the Senate Deputy President and Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, Senator Barau Jibrin, Monday’s session marked the point at which the committee would validate recommendations already agreed upon during earlier engagements. He stated that the assignment was nearing completion and that the committee had reached the final stage of its mandate.
Senator Jibrin said, “Our meeting today will be less deliberative. The purpose is to approve positions reached previously. This is the last lap of this assignment. We must fulfil our promise to Nigerians and the bills will be transmitted to the State Houses of Assembly this year.”
He reminded participants that consultations held in Lagos a month earlier had resolved most contentious issues and that the task before them now was mainly ratification and technical refinement.
Similarly, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the House Committee on Constitution Review, Honourable Benjamin Kalu, commended the commitment of committee members and explained that the engagement had shifted from debate to decisive legislative action.
He stated, “This is the final retreat before the historic voting on the constitution alteration bills. After today, we move from deliberation to decision. We move from consultation to legislative action. We move from debate to delivery.”
Honourable Kalu explained that the committee carried out extensive work over the past year, which included six zonal public hearings across the country, three technical retreats, and multiple consultations involving governors, political party leaders, traditional rulers, security agencies, civil society organisations, and women advocacy groups.
He noted that Nigerians consistently demanded reform measures that would “Devolve more powers to states, guarantee local government autonomy, strengthen state policing and internal security, ensure credible elections, deepen fiscal federalism and expand gender representation.”
Both committee leaders reassured participants that the focus now rested on the State Houses of Assembly, as their approval would determine the direction of the entire constitutional amendment process.
Honourable Kalu observed, “The success or failure of this review will not be determined here in Abuja, but in the thirty six State Assemblies. You are the gatekeepers of constitutional reform.”
Senator Jibrin explained that the retreat was structured to ensure alignment between federal lawmakers and their state counterparts before the draft bills are transmitted to them.
He added that state governors would be briefed on Wednesday to ensure harmony between the legislative and executive arms and to avert political obstacles that could slow down the process. According to him, this step was necessary to uphold federal principles and meet the expectations of the more than two hundred million citizens who desire clarity and reform.
Honourable Kalu urged Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly to return to their respective states as “ambassadors of reform,” while also calling on federal lawmakers to remain available for the culmination of the process.
He stated, “This is our moment. Let us rise to it.”
With deliberations now concluded, the committee is expected to harmonise its sub-reports and present the consolidated document for voting in both chambers of the National Assembly. Should two-thirds of the State Assemblies approve the alterations, the bills will then be transmitted to the President for assent, completing one of the most consequential legislative decisions of the Tenth National Assembly.
