Reps hold public hearing on constitution review today
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has called for the establishment of parliamentary diplomacy that will provide a platform to fast-track frameworks for medical exchanges, academic recognition, joint research and targeted investments between Nigeria and Cuba.
Meanwhile, the House will, today, hold a national public hearing on the proposed amendment to the 1999 Constitution in Abuja. The hearing, originally scheduled earlier this month but postponed following the national mourning for former President Muhammadu Buhari, marks a major step in the ongoing efforts to amend the Constitution
The Speaker spoke yesterday while receiving a delegation from Cuba led by Fernando González Llort, member of the National Assembly of the People’s Power of Cuba (ANPP) and President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the People’s (ICAP), on a courtesy visit.
He stressed the need for such parliamentary diplomacy to yield tangible outputs that will lead to the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), ratified agreements and funded programmes.
Represented by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, the Speaker lauded the diplomatic ties between both countries, calling for the deepening of the bilateral relations.
He drew up some strategic markers, which included parliamentary and health diplomacy, trade and culture, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, saying their implementation would help to birth a robust parliamentary partnership.
Earlier in their separate remarks, the Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria, Miriam Morales Palmer, and Llort lauded the relationship between Nigeria and Cuba, saying they were working on issues of mutual interest to both countries.
Llort invited the Deputy Speaker to visit Cuba to enable them to exchange views on parliamentary diplomacy and other issues of mutual interest and benefits.
At the public hearing, issues expected on the front burner are state police, power devolution, state police, special legislative seats for women, electoral and judicial reforms, among others.
Kalu, who also chairs the Special Ad-hoc Committee on the Constitution Review, is expected to preside over the event at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
According to the House Spokesman, Akin Rotimi, the hearing is designed to consolidate citizens’ inputs gathered during the zonal consultations held in July across the six geopolitical zones. Those consultations featured public hearings at 12 designated centres nationwide.
Rotimi stressed the importance of public participation in the process, describing the national hearing as “a vital platform for Nigerians and stakeholders to shape constitutional reforms directly.”
He encouraged citizens to engage with the Compendium of 86 Constitution Review Bills, available online, to better understand the issues under consideration and make informed contributions.
